


As We Know It

by indi_ghost



Category: NCT (Band)
Genre: #nospoilers, Action & Romance, Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Post-Apocalypse, Angst, Dark, Enemies to Lovers, Forced Bonding, M/M, More Characters Might Be Coming, Slow Burn, There Will Be Happiness Eventually, Tough Bois
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-26
Updated: 2019-01-27
Packaged: 2019-08-30 00:01:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 5
Words: 32,886
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16753981
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/indi_ghost/pseuds/indi_ghost
Summary: Never show weakness. By the end of your training, you will have none.Medical student Taeyong used to help save lives, and now he's been trained to take them. In a post-nuclear World War III world, people and resources are scarce. In an efforts to repopulate a "better" world, governments worldwide have initiated the Cell program, where anyone under the age of 30 is rounded up and trained to become an Agent, a killing machine, and go on to bring other kids into the Cells.Taeyong escapes the Cells with his two Cellmates Mark and Jaehyun, and they now hide out in an airplane hangar with other survivors. The dangers are endless, with Agents and Scavengers, the people who capture kids and turn them into the Cells for food, always hunting them. But at least they have each other.What happens when they come across other survivors?(Essentially, a bunch of badass bois trying not fall in love with each other).Rating for some violence, guns, and language.





	1. Shoot First

**Author's Note:**

> Buckle in, folks, it's gonna be a bumpy ride. 
> 
> A merry band of survivors make some new....friends.  
> Chapter Content Warning: violence, blood, cursing
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy!

“Now boarding all passengers to hell. Your flight is leaving in twenty minutes.”

Taeyong woke up to the sound of Lucas’ deep voice imitating the airport intercom, followed quickly by Mark’s echoing giggles. He slowly stretched on his makeshift bed in the airplane aisle and winced as Mark burst into another fit of laughter at something Lucas said. It didn’t take long for Taeyong’s mouth to twitch into a small smile. There were worse sounds to wake up to. 

Still slightly grumpy, he got up, walked out of the plane, and towards the source of the noise, where Lucas was imitating a flight attendant and Mark was laughing in the middle of the hangar. Jaemin was watching the two from the ground, laughing along with as much energy as he could muster. His brother’s head was resting on his shoulder. Taeyong’s smile spread as he noticed that the youngest boy was still half-asleep. Every time Jaemin laughed, it would shake Jisung’s head and his wide eyes would open after drooping closed. He was glad that Jaemin was up and moving, even though Taeyong could tell that Jaemin was trying to hide his winces of pain whenever he moved his arm. Jaehyun, who was working on starting a fire, was the first to notice Taeyong’s presence. 

“Ah, the dead has risen,” he remarked with a smile. Taeyong’s scowled at his friend, but it was hard for him to be intimidating with his red hair sticking up in all sorts of directions. Lucas paused his antics to address him. 

“Tyongieeee. Thank god you’re awake. We’re fucking starving!” Taeyong wondered how he had so much energy this early in the morning and then glared at Lucas’ nickname.  
“You know, you could always make your own goddamn food.” At this, Lucas pouted and Jaehyun gave a soft laugh. 

“Ah, we wouldn’t have a shelter if we left the cooking to Lucas,” he said, adding on to the teasing of Lucas, who is turn replied with a joke. At this, Mark started laughing again. Taeyong looked at Mark and Jaehyun and thought about how nice it was to see them smile again. He was glad the group had found Lucas. Even though he was loud, his energy was contagious. Taeyong grabbed a pot and moved to sit next to Jaemin, where he began preparing breakfast with the things Jaehyun had already set up. This startled Jisung, whose eyes had closed again. His eyes shot open and he picked his head up from his brother’s shoulder. 

“I’m up!” he yelped. Jaemin ruffled Jisung’s blonde hair with his good arm. 

“Morning, sleepy head.”

After Taeyong was done cooking the rice, Mark and Lucas joined the circle next to Jaemin around the fire. The three boys launched into a new conversation and Jaehyun, who was tending to the fire, leaned down next to Taeyong. 

“Hey, we’re going to have to go into town today. We’re running low on supplies,” he said in a low voice. 

“Yeah, I knew it would be soon… I’ll go this time. I’m going to try to find a pharmacy. Jaemin’s been putting on a brave face, but I know he’s in pain. Our ibuprofen stock doesn’t really help for shit with anything more than a headache,” he replied in the same low tone, and the two sat in silence for a second, both knowing that Taeyong felt guilty for staying behind last time they had gone into town, even though Jaehyun had insisted on going and making Taeyong get some rest. Things didn’t go according to plan. Taeyong shuddered and looked over to Jaemin, focusing on the scar running down his arm. The angry red line snaked diagonally from his shoulder to just above the start of his elbow. He turned away and looked at Lucas. 

“Lucas, you up for a trip to the city?” Lucas’ face lit up at this question and Taeyong knew he made the right call. They were all feeling a little cooped up. Ever since the last trip to the city, the group had agreed to stay inside the hangar and lay low for a while. He knew Lucas, as the most recent addition to their group, was particularly having trouble adjusting to living in the hangar. Lucas stood up and punched the air with a dramatic “yes!” 

“I know I can’t go with you guys, but can you make sure to get some coffee? We’ve been out for a few days and I’m actually dying over here,” Jaemin said. They all rolled their eyes at his dramatics. Jaemin was smiling with the rest of them, but his left hand had come up to absentmindedly rub his injured arm. 

\------

_Always be ready, gun loaded. Keep your finger on the trigger. Shoot first. Ask later._

Taeyong put his jacket on and loaded his gun, trying to shake their voices out of his head. He didn’t want to remember his training. He motioned for Mark to come over to him. 

“I want you to do a check up on Jaemin’s arm while I’m out. Change the dressing and clean the wound. If there’s no sign of infection, you can take the stitches out.” At this, Mark’s eyes widened.  
“Really? Doesn’t standard protocol call for up to two weeks?” 

“That’s the maximum healing time, but in the ER, we rarely waited that long. It’s been about nine days, so it should be fine if the wound isn’t infected. Now, what are the five signs of infection?”  
Taeyong started buttoning up his jacket as he quizzed Mark, who had pulled out a small notepad from his back pocket and was taking notes as Taeyong spoke. He paused his scribbling to answer the question.

“Five signs of infection: pain, redness, warmth, pus, and … edema,” he listed out, barely hesitating. Taeyong smiled and nodded. 

“Perfect. You’re up Dr. Lee.” At this Mark smiled and walked away, not looking up as he read his notes furiously. Taeyong watched him go. His smile dropped as he remembered their time in the Cells. Taeyong had only been a third-year medical student before the war, but he had the most medical experience of the bunch. To pass the time in the Cells, he had started teaching Mark the medical basics. Both parties appreciated the distraction, and Mark was smart and a hard worker. Taeyong’s heart clenched as he imagined what a good medical student Mark would have made. It clenched harder when he realized that they may never get to live in a world again where normal things like doctors and teachers existed. Taeyong was shaken out of his thoughts by Jisung poking his stomach. 

“I want to go with you and Lucas,” he stated, and after seeing Taeyong’s mouth begin to form the letters n-o, he added with a pout, “I really don’t want to sit around while Jaemin is in pain.” Jisung put on his best puppy dog face, which no one, even Taeyong, could resist. Taeyong sighed and contemplated a second before nodding his head. 

“Alright fine. Go get your jacket. You can carry the suitcase. But you’re not taking a gun!” He yelled after Jisung, who started running to get his jacket from the plane the second Taeyong nodded. He watched and rubbed his temples with his thumb and pointer finger.

“Kids these days,” Jaehyun said from behind him, humor in his voice. 

“Yeah, and he’s just now entering his rebellious teenager phase,” Taeyong replied, still rubbing his temples, “we’ve got our hands full with that one.” 

“Shit, do you know how old we sound?” Jaehyun asked, which made Taeyong’s lips turn up. They stood there in silence until Taeyong stopped rubbing his head and turned to Jaehyun.  
“I just don’t want him to get hurt, Jae. What if we run into Scavengers again? Jaemin is just now recovering.” 

_Never show weakness. By the end of your training, you will have none._

Again, Taeyong wished desperately for their words to leave his thoughts. 

“It’s going to be okay, Tyong. Yes, it was a bad day, but Jaemin’s fine now, and we got Lucas out of it,” he paused, “we need supplies, and we can’t keep Jisung in this hangar forever, as much as everyone would love to.” Jaehyun placed his hand on Taeyong’s shoulder and squeezed it. Taeyong closed his eyes and breathed in and out slowly. It was okay to be vulnerable with Jaehyun. The group almost never talked about Taeyong, Jaehyun, and Mark’s time in the Cells, but they knew that Taeyong and Jaehyun were taken first. The two of them had a unique bond that no one else could understand. Jaehyun was the only one that had seen Taeyong at his worst, and the same was true the other way around. Taeyong slowly opened his eyes and muttered a quiet “thank you” before grabbing three bandanas and going to meet the others at the hangar entrance. Lucas was doing jumping jacks and Jaemin stood with his arm around his brother, who held the suitcase they used to transport supplies eagerly. Jaemin looked up at Taeyong with a smirk as he approached.

“Yeah, I can’t resist the face, either,” he teased, and then said more seriously, “don’t let him do anything stupid, okay?” Taeyong nodded while making eye contact with him, knowing that Jaemin wished he could go out with his brother. He threw the bandanas to Lucas and Jisung, before wrapping his own around his neck and pulling it up to cover his nose and mouth. They both did the same. Taeyong knew that they couldn’t do anything about the radiation, but at least they could try not to breathe in all the shit floating around out there. 

“Let’s get this show on the road!” Lucas announced while pulling the lever to open the hangar door. As the door slowly rolled open it, the metal groaned. Taeyong pulled his gun out and pointed it at the entrance on the off-chance that something, or someone, was waiting for them on the other side. Once it was fully open, he motioned for Lucas and Jisung to wait while he stepped outside. The sun was bright in the air, and it took a second for Taeyong’s eyes to adjust after being in the hangar for a few days. He scanned their surroundings. No matter how many times he’d seen it, he was always somewhat shocked by what was beyond their little hangar. It was connected to what was once the Gimpo International Airport. Now, it looked like someone tried to play Jenga with giant concrete chunks of the building and failed miserably. When the war started, the airports were the first things bombed. Taeyong grudgingly thought to himself that it was a smart move from an enemy’s perspective. It reminded him of what he was taught in the Cells. 

_Always have an escape plan. Make sure your opponent doesn’t._

Taeyong turned around and caught eyes with Jaemin, Mark, and then Jaehyun watching from the hangar entrance. They all seemed to experience the same shock at seeing the outside world again. Taeyong motioned for Lucas and Jisung to follow him. The trio headed out and didn’t look back as the door screeched closed behind them, locking the rest of the group safe inside. 

\----

It was about a five-hour trek into town, and Taeyong couldn’t tell if it felt longer or shorter with Lucas around. The only time he stopped talking was when they were crossing the bridge over the Han River into town, where they knew there could be Scavengers, or worse, Agents. Taeyong himself was quiet, as he always was when they weren’t in the hangar, where it felt safe. Out here, he knew that he couldn’t afford to be chatty. Out here, he was reluctantly thankful that he had Cell training. At least he knew he could protect the others, or so he had thought before the last outing. The three walked across the long stretch in silence, with Jisung sandwiched in between Taeyong and Lucas, who both had their guns out and pointed in front of them. The subtle rushing of the water beneath them and the rolling of the suitcase Jisung was towing were the only things that dared to penetrate the silence. 

They stayed in that formation once they got to the other side of the bridge, tense and quiet. They began walking through the streets, the shell of the once beautiful city of Seoul surrounding them. Dust particles and ashes fluttered in the air around them. The delicate pieces of what once was spotted the sky in a way that was almost beautiful. Sometimes if he squinted his eyes enough, Taeyong could pretend they were butterflies, like the ones he used to love seeing at the park by his apartment. But these ones didn’t fly away, just landed softly on the ground, coating the city in a dark sheet. The three kept up their pace in silence, sticking to the edges of the streets, hiding in shadow whenever they could. Jisung scrunched his eyebrows when a particle landed right in between them, and if Taeyong hadn’t been so on edge, he would have chuckled at sight. 

_Always be prepared. Think three steps ahead of your opponent._

They first went to their regular supermarket, where they had previously stored supplies that they couldn’t carry back on outings in the past. It was a good thing they planned ahead, because the market was otherwise almost completely empty. Went everything went to shit, the stores were raided by desperate throngs of people, and after they were done, the government didn’t even both trying to clean up the mess. It was a weird experience, walking through the store. Taeyong used to like to go shopping, the random mix of vibrant colors the aisles used to promise were a consistent comfort in his hectic life. Now, the entire store looked muted by the cream of the bare aisles, save for the occasional cans sprinkled around. 

They tried to be as practical as possible with their food, prioritizing sustainable foods like beans and rice and peanut butter. Although they held no nutritional value, the group always made sure to pick up some of those cheap noodle packets. They were a taste of a home they would never be able to return to. They also remembered to grab the essentials, toilet paper, soap, and instant coffee for Jaemin. By then end of their tear through their stockpile in the market, the suitcase was almost busting, and Taeyong knew it would probably slow them down on the way back. However, on the way out, Lucas caught site of a chocolate bar under an overturned counter and upon nagging by both him and Jisung, Taeyong relented and said they could put it in the suitcase, even though it would probably melt by the time they got back. After they left, the sun hung lower in the sky and they neared a shop with peeling paint on the window. The once bright display was so dulled that Taeyong almost couldn’t read them. 

“Hey, let’s stop here. I wanna see if they have any pain meds we can bring back for Jaemin,” Taeyong said.

_Know the layout of your arena._

As they did when they left the hangar and with the supermarket, Taeyong went in first to check for any danger, flinching at the bell ringing when he opened the door. After clearing the area, he motioned for Lucas and Jisung to follow him into the pharmacy. They pulled the bandanas down from their faces when they got inside. It was much like the supermarket in that it was both eerily quiet and empty. Taeyong and Lucas headed towards the back of the pharmacy, sidestepping the various pills and empty bottles littering the floor. 

“Hey guys, this suitcase is heavy, I’m gonna chill up here. Let me know if I can help,” Jisung hollered from the front. 

“That’s okay, Jisung. Rest up ‘cuz you have the carry that thing the whole way back,” Lucas yelled back, looking back and smiling as Jisung sat on one of the front checkout counters and pouted. Lucas chuckled as Taeyong sent a glare that held no weight over to him, which was quickly followed by a tiny smile. It was probably the first semblance of a smile that had graced Taeyong’s face since they’d left the hangar. They both knew that one of them would end up carrying the suitcase by the time they got back. Taeyong’s smile vanished as he began focusing on the task at hand. 

“Alright, so we’re looking for pain medication. The narcotics will probably be in the very back. While I’m checking there, can you look around for some antibiotics? Basically, anything that ends in -cilllin or -mycin will be good,” he said, marching to the back. 

“Aye aye!” Lucas exclaimed, giving a mocking salute. Then the two older boys then began their search through the disordered shelves. The pharmacy was quiet as they focused, with only the occasional proclamation from Jisung interrupting them. At some point, Lucas had let out a shout when he found a bottle of amoxicillin, and then everything went quiet again as they searched for pain pills among the chaos behind the pharmacist’s counter. 

“Aha!” Taeyong’s victorious shout was the first sound that had echoed through the deserted pharmacy in a while. He was holding up a white sealed package. “Hydrocodone,” he followed up with a smile. Lucas laughed at this. 

“Okay, drug addict,” he said with a smile. At this, Taeyong shot him a glare. 

“Ha ha,” he said in a dry voice, which only prolonged Lucas’ bellowing laughs. “Hey, Jisung, look around and see if there’s anything we could use back at the hangar,” he hollered from behind the counter to Jisung, who hadn’t moved from his spot in the front. 

“Oh, and see if you could find some lotion. We all know how Jaehyun loves to moisturize,” Lucas added on. At this, Taeyong did let out a little laugh. Jisung gave a sound of acknowledgement as he hopped down from the counter he was sitting on. Lucas had wondered off towards the front, stopping in an aisle to smell the few broken bottles of cologne that were scattered on the floor. 

“Clean up on aisle four,” he muttered to himself, proud of his own joke. Taeyong heard this and rolled his eyes as he inspected another bottle of pills, trying to remember what they were used for. Whatever they were, they didn’t need them, but he scrunched his nose up in frustration because he couldn’t remember. His concentration was broken by the ring of the door opening followed by a gasp and a shout. Taeyong’s focus was immediately rerouted to the front of the store, where Jisung was, and he ran towards it, gun drawn. Lucas was close behind. When they got to the front of the store, Taeyong felt his whole body go cold at what was waiting when they got there. 

There were four of them. They were standing in front of the counter where Jisung had just been. One of the taller ones with jet black hair had grabbed Jisung by the hair and pivoted towards the approaching Taeyong and Lucas. The dark-haired one was flanked by a shorter boy with reddish hair on his left and another dark-haired boy on his right, both gripping knives of varying lengths tightly in their hands. Behind them stood the tallest of the lot, with bluish-gray hair hanging over his dark eyes. Lucas gasped when he saw that the one holding Jisung held a blade against his throat.  
“Let him go!” he yelled, gun pointed directly at the boy, who simply tightened his grasp on Jisung’s hair, earning a wince from Jisung. Then he spoke for the first time. 

“Put the guns down, both of you, and slide them across the room,” he said, and after a few moments of no one moving, added, “no one has to get hurt. Just do what I say.” His voice was calm, and as he spoke, he tilted his head slightly to the left, in an almost curious manner. When he said this, his grip tightened once again on Jisung, whose eyes widened more than should be humanly possible. The three other boys stayed positioned around him, staring intensely at the guns trained on the guy in the middle. Lucas kept his gun trained on him and shot a look over to Taeyong, who had been silent during the whole encounter. Taeyong could barely see anything other than the sharp blade pressed tightly against Jisung’s neck. 

_Never show weakness._

“Let him go,” he said. His voice was barely above a whisper, but everyone seemed to hear it. Lucas noticed the guy holding Jisung attempt to suppress a shiver at the tone of Taeyong’s voice. The guy on his right looked over to him for a second, a slight tremor passing over the hand that clenched around a knife. Lucas himself was taken aback for a moment. He almost didn’t recognize Taeyong by the look on his face. It was cold, lacked any warmth that had just moments before been present. The boy in the middle simply blinked after composing himself and replied. 

“Put your guns on the floor, slide them towards us, and no one gets hurt,” he repeated. Lucas was impressed that the boy’s even tone remained amid facing down the barrels of two guns. He looked over at Taeyong again, whose focus shifted up from Jisung’s pained face to the boy holding him. When Taeyong’s eyes met the other boy’s, he found them already intensively trained on him. Taeyong saw the boy tilt his head ever so slightly more to the left, exposing a flash of his pale neck behind the torn maroon scarf that was wrapped around it. No one moved as the two sized each other up. Eventually, the red-haired boy broke the silence when he turned to the guy in the middle.

“Doyoung, shit, look at his jacket,” he muttered quietly, but not quietly enough for Lucas and Taeyong to miss what he was saying. He gestured to Taeyong’s jacket. Taeyong watched as the boy in the middle took in the jacket he was wearing and saw his eyes slightly widening. He pressed the knife into Jisung’s skin harder. Jisung gasped and tried to grab at the hand that held the knife. Taeyong once again looked down to Jisung’s neck to see a drop of blood peek out from where the knife was putting pressure.

“Are you guys Agents?” the boy hissed. 

“Hey, let up on the kid, he’s bleeding,” Lucas commanded, clenching the gun in his hands harder as he watched Jisung get manhandled. 

“How about you answer his goddamned question first!” the red-haired boy yelled back before the other one had a chance to answer. Lucas gritted his teeth. 

“No, we’re not fucking Agents! He used to be, but he escaped the Cells,” Lucas answered, gesturing to Taeyong, “now, please, let the kid go.” At this, all four of the boys’ eyes shot up to Taeyong, who was smiling. The knowledge that he had once been in the Cells gave him some power in this situation. However, this wasn’t a smile Lucas had ever seen before.  
Use your opponents fear to your advantage. 

“Bullshit! You expect us to believe that he is just conveniently wearing the Agent uniform and you both have fucking military-grade guns,” yelled the red-haired one again. 

“Uh, yeah, actually I do, you- ” Lucas was about to snap back at the boy when Taeyong interrupted him in a tone that once again silenced everyone. 

“Yes,” he said, “I was in the Cells for a long time. Which means I could probably kill all four of you with one bullet. So, it might be wise to do what I say.” He still had that chilling smile on his face when he repeated once more,

“Let. Him. Go.”

Lucas was hoping to God that the idiots in front of them would catch the hint and let Jisung go before it got messy. He didn’t know much about the Cells, but he’d seen Jaehyun and Mark in action when the group had rescued him from the Scavengers on their last supply outing. He could see why people were so afraid of Agents. However, much to Lucas’ dismay, it didn’t seem like it would end easily. He again saw another shiver run through the boy in the middle’s body, but other than that the only emotion shown clearly on his face was anger. The gray-haired boy in the back of the group had put his hand on the shoulder of the boy- Doyoung- and whispered into his ear, casting occasional glances at Taeyong. It almost looked like he was trying to calm him down. Lucas hoped the boy was successful. The dark-haired boy next to Doyoung didn’t look like he was faring well. His hand was actively shaking, causing the knife in his hand to reflect the light coming in through the store window, and he was trying desperately to keep his fear off his face. Lucas almost felt bad for him. The red-haired boy, on the other hand, looked slightly shaken by Taeyong’s threat, but still had that annoyingly determined look in his eye. He sneered at Lucas but didn’t say anything. Doyoung shook the gray-haired one’s hand off his shoulder, and Lucas quickly realized that the gray-haired boy must’ve been unsuccessful in calming Doyoung down. 

“Your threats mean nothing, not when I have this little guy,” Doyoung said as he gave a pointed look down to Jisung, whose bottom lip was now trembling, and continued, “so, it might be wise to do what _I_ say.” He shot a wicked smile over to Taeyong when he said his next words. 

“Lower. Your. Guns.” 

He whispered the words in an attempt to mock the ones that Taeyong had previously uttered, drawing out the s. Lucas widened his eyes at Doyoung’s audacity. He looked over to Taeyong. He had his eyes closed, and one of his nostrils was subtly flaring, almost as if Taeyong was about to snarl. 

“Oh, and Donghyuck, how about you go grab that suitcase, too,” Doyoung said, still gripping Jisung’s blonde hair tightly, to the red-haired boy on his left, and added, “I’m sure we could use the extra supplies.” Donghyuck grinned at Lucas as he started towards the nearly-bursting suitcase, filled with their supplies, that had fallen over on the ground by the counter when Jisung was grabbed. This made Lucas’ hand grip his gun even tighter. The knuckles were turning white from pressure. Jisung watched helplessly, lower lip still trembling. 

When Taeyong heard Doyoung’s words, he opened his eyes. He didn’t watch Donghyuck’s pursuit towards the suitcase. He didn’t even pay attention to Jisung’s not-so-silent tears beginning to slide down his face. If he hadn’t been so angry, he might have noticed Doyoung’s grip slightly lessen at the sound of Jisung crying. But no, all he could see was the triumphant smirk that graced Doyoung’s calm face. Then he saw red. He couldn’t hear Jisung’s sobs over the rushing of blood in his ears. He felt his face flush with anger, and the rushing noise assaulting his ears harmonized with the sounds of voices he longed to forget bouncing around in his head. 

_Shoot first._  
His eyebrow twitched upwards when he made eye-contact with Doyoung. Then, he turned towards Donghyuck, who had just made it to the suitcase. In a matter of seconds, a gunshot rang out, and Donghyuck was on the floor, gasping and looking at his leg, which now had blood running down the side of it. Other than the pained noises coming from Donghyuck while he gipped his thigh, everything was silent. The silence only lasted for a few moments. There was a clatter as the other dark-haired boy dropped his knife and ran over to Donghyuck, quickly followed by the gray-haired one. Doyoung stood statue still, his widened eyes didn’t leave Taeyong. Lucas looked just as shocked as Doyoung. 

_Ask later._  
“I have perfect aim,” Taeyong said quietly, “I just nicked his femoral artery, which means we have about five minutes before he bleeds out. Now, I can save his life, but only if you let the fucking kid go and drop your weapons.” The staring match continued between Taeyong and Doyoung for another moment before Doyoung released his grip on Jisung’s hair and threw the blade to the ground. Jisung ran over to Lucas and hid behind his tall frame as the two watched the scene in front of them in shock. The second Jisung was safe, Taeyong’s face visibly changed. The eerie smile wiped from his face, and instead he began chewing nervously on his bottom hip as he saw Donghyuck on the ground. He took a few breaths to calm himself down, willing away the chill that had crawled through his body upon using his Cell training. 

“Lucas, keep an eye on everyone,” Taeyong muttered before slinging his gun around to his back by the strap and rushing to where Donghyuck was, immediately relying on his instincts from his medical training. Lucas gave a quiet nod and kept his gun trained on everyone as they crowded around the groaning boy, even though he highly doubted anyone would try anything after what just happened. 

Taeyong asked the gray-haired boy for his knife and immediately went to cut Donghyuck’s pants above the wound on his thigh. He cut a strip off the disconnected piece of fabric and began to fashion a tourniquet with the knife above the wound. Doyoung watched the scene from afar. He hadn’t moved since he let Jisung go. Donghyuck’s whimpers didn’t subside throughout the whole ordeal.  
“Shit, Hyuck, hold on, it’s gonna be okay,” the other dark-haired boy was saying quietly to Donghyuck. Then he turned to Taeyong, “what the fuck is wrong with you?” The boy’s grip on Donghyuck’s hand tightened as he yelled. Taeyong looked up momentarily from his work and felt a pang of guilt as he saw the boy’s tear-streaked face and shaking shoulders as he yelled at him. 

_Never show weakness. You have none._

Taeyong shook his head in a desperate attempt to forget what he had just done, at least until after he helped the boy underneath him. 

“Listen, um, what’s your name?” Taeyong asked. There was a softness in his voice that made the boy hesitate before answering. 

“Jeno.” 

“Okay, Jeno, look, I can’t have you yelling at me while I try to work, okay?” At this, Jeno clenched his jaw in silent anger. “Just keep holding his hand, that’s all you can do right now,” Taeyong added tentatively before going back to work on Donghyuck. The gray-haired one was crouched next to them and watched the interaction with wide eyes. After a few minutes of tense silence, occasionally interrupted by Donghyuck’s hisses and groans of pain, Taeyong muttered to himself. 

“Shit.” 

“What, what’s wrong?” Jeno asked him in a slightly panicked voice. 

“Something’s not right. I think a piece of shattered bone might be causing more damage. There’s nothing more I can do here,” Taeyong sighed before standing up. As soon as he was up, he heard Lucas give a warning shout right before he was slammed up against the nearest pharmacy wall. When his vision came back into focus, he was met with Doyoung’s face pushed up against his, merely inches away. Doyoung’s hand was twisted into the front of Taeyong’s Agent jacket. The top buttons were digging into the skin of his hand, but he didn’t care. He leaned even closer to Taeyong’s face.

“Fix it, _now_. If he dies, I swear to God a gun won’t stop me from killing you and all your friends,” Doyoung seethed. When he spoke the words, he grabbed Taeyong’s jacket front and slammed him once again into the wall to make his point clear. Both boys were breathing heavily. Each time Doyoung exhaled, the wispy strands of hair hanging over Taeyong’s forehead shifted with the force. Taeyong had to crane his neck slightly to look into Doyoung’s eyes at his proximity. When Taeyong’s eyes did meet Doyoung’s, he noticed that they were dark, almost black, and more importantly, there was a gloss to them, like he was trying to hold back tears. The slight shine in Doyoung’s shadowy eyes was the only indication that he was he affected by any emotion other than rage. Taeyong swallowed down the guilt that once again threatened to bubble up to the surface, and instead lifted his hand to grasp Doyoung’s wrist. He yanked it hard, forcing Doyoung to let go of his jacket collar.

“I wasn’t going to leave him,” Taeyong told Doyoung in an elevated voice, and shoved him back. Doyoung blinked in surprise at the force of the shove. He didn’t expect someone so small to be that strong. “I need to go talk to my people for a second, if that’s okay with you?” The question was completely sarcastic, and Doyoung didn’t answer. He simply watched Taeyong with a glare as he walked past him. When Taeyong got to Lucas and Jisung, he noticed that Jisung was still trembling, and wondered if it was from being used as a hostage or Taeyong himself. Taeyong once again felt the frosty stab of guilt in his gut. Lucas spoke the moment Taeyong was in front of him.

“Jesus, Taeyong! I get that we had to do something, but damn. That guy, Donghyuck or whatever, he’s annoying as hell, but that doesn’t mean go and kill him!” Lucas was talking in a tone as low as his loud voice allowed. Taeyong looked up at him. 

“Relax. I didn’t hit anywhere close to the femoral artery…got him in the muscle. I just said that to scare them,” he whispered, shooting a quick glance to the group, “he’s fine for now, but I think I might have chipped a bone, which means I’m gonna have to go in and remove the shard, so it doesn’t cause any damage. Shit!” 

“Go in, with what? You don’t have any equipment here.” Upon Lucas’ question, Taeyong looked back up at him and waited for the realization to dawn on his face. “Hell no! Are you crazy? We can’t bring them back with us.” At this, Taeyong sighed. 

“Yeah, I get that it’s not optimal, but we can’t just leave him here. I can’t remove the bone fragment without equipment, which we have back at the hangar. And I’ll have Mark to assist me.” Taeyong began worrying his bottom lip with his teeth. 

“Okay, yeah, well it’s not my fault you went fucking psycho!” After Taeyong winced and stayed silent, Lucas added in resignation, “I’m sorry, man. I get that you can’t control that shit, but…ugh, fine. I guess we have to take them back.” Jisung watched the entire conversation without speaking, still eyeing Taeyong warily. Taeyong nodded silently in agreement, turned, and headed towards the other group. 

As he approached, Doyoung shot him another scathing look. Taeyong looked over to Jeno, who was trying to keep a nearly passed out Donghyuck awake. His eyes finally landed on the gray-haired one, who seemed to be the calmest out of the bunch. Taeyong directed his words to him. 

“So…uh, I can repair the damage, but not here. We have medical equipment back at our hideout.”

“Fuck no, we’re not going anywhere with you!” Doyoung yelled. Taeyong breathed in deeply, trying to keep his composure. Doyoung opened his mouth to yell again but was stopped by the gray-haired one. 

“Is that really the only way?” the boy’s voice was soft and he looked up at Taeyong with wide eyes. When Taeyong nodded, the gray-haired boy turned to Doyoung. “Do, we have to.” Doyoung looked back at the gray-haired boy and let out a sigh, which Taeyong took as his reluctant approval. 

“Okay, so the place is a few hours walk. It’s gonna be tricky, but we have to keep him as stable as possible. Maybe we could try to make some kind of gurney or-” Taeyong was interrupted by Doyoung’s clipped voice. 

“We have a car.” 

“A c-car?” Taeyong was shocked. Doyoung rolled his eyes.

“Yes, a car. You know those big metal things that roll around on four wheels?” his voice was bone dry. The gray-haired one stood up and shot a look to Doyoung before turning to Taeyong.

“Yeah, we have a van, but we only use it when we’re getting supplies. Gas is kinda hard to come by these days,” he said with a faint chuckle. No one else showed any sign of laughing, although Taeyong thought to himself that he probably would’ve smiled at the boy’s attempt at a joke under different circumstances. 

“Alright, let’s go then. You guys can carry him if you want. Please be very careful. Like I said, he needs to be kept as stable as possible.” At this, Jeno and the gray-haired boy picked Donghyuck up and the entire group headed out of the pharmacy, led by Doyoung, into an alley where a beat-up van was parked. Before following everyone out of the pharmacy, Jisung ran and grabbed the suitcase. They van was packed. The gray-haired one sat in the driver’s seat, and Lucas agreed to sit up in the passenger’s seat to give directions. When they got situated, the gray-haired one turned to Lucas and stuck out his hand towards him. 

“I’m Jungwoo,” he said with a smile, arm still extended. Lucas looked at him like he was crazy but reached out to shake the boy’s hand anyways. 

“Uh, hi, I’m Lucas.” Lucas was half-convinced he hadn’t shaken someone’s hand since before the war. It was the first taste of diplomacy he’d had in a long time. After they shook hands, Jungwoo turned to the steering wheel and jabbed a screw-driver into the ignition, inciting the car to roar to life. The back of the van was hollowed out, so the other five boys tried their best to get comfortable, or as comfortable as you could be with Doyoung’s constant glares at Taeyong and Donghyuck’s pained groans. Jisung was in the corner of the van, hugging the suitcase to his chest. Jeno sat on one side of Donghyuck, Taeyong on the other. Doyoung sat in the corner, sun shining on his inky hair, and never once took his eyes off Taeyong, who inspected Donghyuck’s wound further. They rode in a tense silence, with Lucas occasionally giving directions to Jungwoo. At some point, the hit a bump, which shook Donghyuck awake from his pained daze. 

“Agh! I can’t believe you fucking shot me!” Donghyuck yelled at Taeyong. His face was pale and sweat was collecting along his bright hairline. From the front, Lucas had to hold back a snort. Of course, he thought, the brat found a way to still be annoying, even after being shot. Taeyong suddenly reached into his pocket and ripped open the white package that took them to the pharmacy in the first place. He yanked out the orange pill bottle and popped it open, taking two pills into his hand and extending his arm to Donghyuck. 

“This is hydrocodone. It should help with the pain. Does anyone have any water?” Before anyone had a chance to answer, Donghyuck grabbed the pills and pushed them into his mouth, swallowing them dry while shooting a glare to Taeyong. After he swallowed them, he took a shaky breath and closed his eyes, keeping them closed for the rest of the ride. No one spoke after that. 

\--------

Back in the hangar, Jaehyun was absent-mindedly tidying up the airplane that the group slept in, anxiously awaiting Taeyong and the others’ return. It was almost sunset, which meant they should be back anytime now, but he wasn’t going to panic yet. Mark had just finished cleaning and wrapping Jaemin’s wound after taking the stiches out, when they heard a bang on the hangar door. Lucas’ voice bellowed from outside. 

“Boys! We’ve got company.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I finally posted something on this site! It's actually really fun. Poor Jisung. Poor Donghyuck! How do we feel about our dark bois? If anyone has any advise about fic-writing, I'm always open to input. 
> 
> Curious Cat: curiouscat.me/indi__ghost
> 
> ~Until next time~


	2. Company

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The hangar's getting a little crowded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So... didn't expect to be updating this soon, but here we are!
> 
> Chapter Content Warning: cursing, mentions of blood and violence 
> 
>  
> 
> Enjoy :)

“Let me sleep, please,” Donghyuck whined, a dreamy smile on his face. Taeyong was grateful that the pills seemed to be kicking in. He looked up at Mark, who hadn’t said a word since their arrival.

“Could you cover his face? We don’t have anesthesia or anything. He’s pretty doped up but… it’s probably best that he doesn’t see this,” Taeyong asked Mark, who nodded silently and went to get a blanket. Once he returned, he went to place the blanket over Donghyuck’s slowly closing eyes, when they suddenly shot open and latched onto his. Mark stood still, petrified by the intensity of the boy’s stare. His red hair was curled with sweat, and Mark wondered if it was uncomfortable, to have those strands of fiery hair hanging over his eyes like that. Then again, he did also have a literal bullet in his thigh. Donghyuck gave him another loopy smile.

“So, I can sleep now?” he asked, blinking slowly.

“Uh, yeah, sure,” Mark stuttered and quickly threw the blanket over Donghyuck’s face. He turned back to Taeyong slowly, recovering from the weird encounter. “Where do you want me?” Taeyong looked up from his spot above Donghyuck’s leg.

“Go across from me, on the other side of his leg. I need you to hold these,” he reached behind him and handed Mark a silver spatula and a flashlight once he was standing across from Taeyong. Mark grabbed the spatula and lifted his brow up at Taeyong in confusion. Taeyong sighed. “This is our retractor for the day… it’s the best we can do for right now,” he said, and then added weakly, “I cleaned it.” Mark nodded slowly, looking down at the spatula, imagining the last time he saw it being used to stir rice. Never eating again…. Noted.

“Shine the light over the wound and use the tip of the spatula to retract so I can get more visualization of the field.” Mark nodded and looked over as Jaehyun appeared next to him with fire-building materials. Taeyong gestured at Jaehyun with his head and continued speaking to Mark. “Once the fire is going, I want you to pass the spatula over the flame a few times to sterilize it.” Mark nodded, any trace of confusion swept from his face. He’d gotten over the initial shock of the newcomers’ arrival and was now able to focus.

Taeyong slipped a pair of round, delicate glasses over the bridge of his slim nose and hunched over Donghyuck’s leg, scalpel and forceps in hand. He looked up at Mark and nodded, signaling him to pass the spatula over the flame. After Mark inserted the tip of the spatula into the wound and retracted, Taeyong began working.

\-----

While Mark and Taeyong were working, the rest of the inhabitants were sprinkled around the hangar, suspended in a tense state of waiting. Near the corner they were working, Jaehyun was attempting to calm down a very worked up Jaemin. Breathing deeply to keep his own temper in check, Jaehyun spoke to Jaemin in a hushed tone, occasionally looking over at his shoulder at Jungwoo and Jeno, who stood awkwardly in the middle of the expansive space. Jaemin was almost shaking in anger as he clutched Jisung closer to him with his good arm. He tried not to look down at Jisung. His fury spiked every time he saw the few drops of dry blood that dotted his brother’s otherwise unblemished neck.

Lucas couldn’t stop moving. He was nervous, letting these people into their “home.” Even though he just started getting used to living in the hangar, he already felt protective of it. Mark, Jaehyun, Jaemin, they saved him from Scavengers. He already considered them and Taeyong and Jisung family, the first family he had known in a while. Had it not been for them, he would be in the Cells right now, having God knows what done to him. His face would’ve eventually learned to contort into the twisted shapes he’d seen on Taeyong’s earlier. Lucas shivered at the thought. Instead of thinking anymore of what could’ve been, he merely paced around staying on the balls of his feet, waiting for something to happen.

The only person alone was Doyoung. He leaned against the plane, mere feet away from where Donghyuck was being worked on, never taking his eyes off Taeyong and Mark. He watched, head tilted slightly off center, eyes narrowed as he studied the two boys working on Donghyuck. It was almost captivating to Doyoung, the way the two worked together. They barely said a word to each other, but when one moved, the other followed, like a series of invisible chrome cogs connected the two. Doyoung wondered how long the group had been together. He begrudgingly had to admit that there was something fascinating about the way that Taeyong moved with such grace, even given the crude materials he had to work with.

 

Back in the center of the hangar, Jeno and Jungwoo warily watched as Jaehyun approached them with a mug in each hand. Once he reached them, he extended his arms out towards them.

“Would you guys like some water?” he asked in a clipped, almost formal, voice. Jungwoo flinched when Jaehyun first spoke, as if he expected to get yelled at, but seemed to relax once he registered the question. He took one of the mugs from Jaehyun’s hands and looked warily behind him, where a few feet back Jaemin was still glaring, and then took a tentative sip. Once he swallowed, he lowered the mug and looked at Jaehyun.

“Thank you,” he said, his voice so timid Jaehyun questioned if he imagined the sound. Then, after a second, he stuck his hand out, “I’m Jungwoo.” Jaehyun raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Yeah, he does that,” Lucas said, appearing behind Jaehyun, still slightly bobbing up and down on the balls of his feet in anticipation. Jaehyun slowly extended his own hand out, cautiously, and shook Jungwoo’s, somehow not surprised at how soft it was.

“You’re welcome. I’m Jaehyun.” He was still wary of the outsiders, but for some reason Jaehyun felt like he could let his guard down, just a little. After replying, Jaehyun offered the other mug to Jeno, who muttered a thank you but shook his head. He was concentrating solely on not craning his neck to see how Donghyuck was doing.

“Did we check them for weapons?” Jaemin came up on the other side of Jaehyun and asked the question with his arms crossed tightly against his chest, wrapped arm hanging slightly lower than the other one. Jaehyun looked back and saw Jisung head into the plane. Jaehyun didn’t blame him for wanting to avoid this.

“We don’t have guns or anything like that,” Jeno replied.

“I didn’t ask if you had guns. I asked if you had weapons,” Jaemin snapped back. Jeno took in an angered breath to answer, but Jungwoo interjected.   

“All we have are knives, but we dropped them in town. We don’t have anything else.” Jaemin made a face that said he was unconvinced, which angered Jeno even more.

“Yeah, we dropped them when your psycho friend shot one of us!” Jeno was tired. He embarrassed that everyone could see the traces of the tears he’d been shedding all afternoon that ghosted his face. He was scared, and not good at hiding it. And now he was pissed. Pissed at himself for looking so weak. Pissed that they ever went into town today. Pissed that his best friend was being operated on by the guy who freaking shot him while he stood there helplessly, having to deal with these people.

“Oh, I’m sorry, you left out the part where _your_ psycho friend was about to slit my brother’s throat!” Jaemin replied, voice rapidly swelling. Lucas was trying to hide a nervous smile. Jaemin telling Jeno off, with his pink hair and wrapped arm, was almost a comical site.

“He wasn’t gonna-” Jeno’s refute was cut short by Donghyuck’s shriek that reverberated from the corner of the hangar. The sound bounced around the gray walls, getting louder every time it hit something solid, until it faded out, leaving everyone in a parched silence. Then, Jeno turned to run towards the sound when he was stopped by Jaehyun grasping his shoulder.  

“Don’t. There’s nothing you can do right now but wait. Let them work. He’s going to have to be in pain for a while,” Jaehyun tried to speak in the lowest, calmest voice he could muster, and Jeno hated to admit that he could feel the sedative tones, if only for a second. Then, he snapped out of it and wrenched Jaehyun’s hand away.

“Don’t touch me.”

“Jeno…” This time it was Jungwoo who spoke. He was nervously thumbing over a crack in the mug he held in his hands. He gave Jeno a pitying look that made Jeno hate the fresh tears that were flowing down his face, tracing the tracks of the ones that had just dried.

“Fine,” he said, and turned around. He stopped, and then turned back to the four people looking at him. Jungwoo was still looking at him with sympathetic eyes that yearned to help. He scanned the other faces. Jaehyun’s face seemed indifferent but failed to hide the flash of pity that briefly illuminated his dark eyes. Lucas looked downright anxious. Finally, his eyes landed on Jaemin, who looked back at him, anger the only emotion written plainly on his face. Jeno was almost grateful that Jaemin didn’t look at him like he was about to break. In fact, he probably wanted to break him. Jeno sniffled, trying to keep the tears back.

“That guy that your friend shot? He’s like a brother to me.” Jeno directed this statement to Jaemin. He didn’t know why, but he felt like he had to say it. Maybe he wanted this Jaemin guy to realize that he wasn’t the only one in the goddamned world who had people he cared about. Jaemin flinched when he heard this. It was only a subtle twitch, but Jeno noticed it. He turned around and walked off, sliding down the wall in tandem with the tears that slid down his cheeks. He pulled his knees up to his chest, pushed his hands over his ears, and closed his eyes, hoping Donghyuck’s pain would end soon. After a few minutes, he heard someone approaching, and then a faint clink. When he opened his eyes a few seconds later, he saw the second mug of water sitting in front of him. The pink-haired boy was walking back to the group, so he didn’t see when Jeno picked the mug up and took a sip, closing his eyes once again.

\-------

“What are you doing to him?” Doyoung yelled behind Mark. Donghyuck let out another pained sound, not completely lucid. Taeyong looked up from Donghyuck’s leg and Doyoung was surprised to see that the blank face he’d been expecting was tainted with a hint of distress in Taeyong’s eyes. Taeyong used the side of his wrist to push his glasses up the bridge of his nose before speaking. When he did this, Doyoung saw the blood that painted Taeyong’s gloved hands and bristled.  

“Look, we gave him meds, but I’m literally digging into his adductor muscle right now, so there’s really nothing we can do about the pain,” Taeyong snapped, and then added in a voice with less edge when he saw Doyoung’s wide eyes trained on his red gloves, “it’s not as bad as it looks. Hopefully, we’ll be done soon.”

Mark flinched as Donghyuck let out another pained gasp, causing the flashlight to waver over the open wound on Donghyuck’s thigh. Taeyong looked up at Mark, a question in his eyes.

“I’m sorry, it’s just… there’s nothing we can do for him?” Mark asked. He was remembering training in the Cells, when they had to fight each other. Every day of his first few weeks had ended the same. He shivered as he remembered trying to find a comfortable position on the cold ground of the Cells. It was almost impossible to sleep with the never-ending battle wounds that speckled his body. He remembered the pain. Taeyong’s voice softened more after Mark’s question. It didn’t take much to know where Mark’s mind was in that moment. Taeyong remembered how helpless the nights in the Cells felt. There wasn’t anything they could do for the pain.

“Uh, I’m not sure how much another hydrocodone would help, but we can try. Anymore after that and I’m afraid he could overdose, he’s not that big. I think it’s definitely not as bad as it would’ve been if he hadn’t taken anything,” he said, not sure if he was trying to comfort himself, Mark, or even Doyoung. Taeyong felt helpless again, now, seeing Mark feeling pain for someone else. If only they were back at the hospital. The feeling got a little better when Mark nodded in understanding, seemingly satisfied with Taeyong’s answer. Taeyong went to grab the pills from his pocket and hesitated when saw his bloody hands.

“Do you want me to grab them? Mark asked.

“No, I haven’t finished these sutures yet, they won’t hold if you move the retractor right now.” They heard a cough from behind them.

“Uh, I can get them?” Doyoung shoved his hands in his pant pockets, causing his long arms to push his shoulders up. With his shoulders shrugged up like that, Taeyong noticed that Doyoung didn’t look as aggressive.

“Um, sure, yeah that’ll work,” Taeyong answered warily. At this, Doyoung circled around Mark, Taeyong’s eyes tracking his movements the entire time, until he got to Taeyong. Due to Taeyong’s position over Donghyuck, Doyoung had to stand awkwardly behind him. He reached towards Taeyong’s front jacket pocket. Arm wrapping around Taeyong from the back, he leaned in, turning his head away so his face wouldn’t be right next to Taeyong’s. His front was almost touching Taeyong’s back. Taeyong could feel the drumming of Doyoung’s rapid heartbeat against his back. He didn’t move the whole time, save for an unintentional shiver at the tingle of Doyoung’s breath against his neck. Once Doyoung’s hands closed around the pill bottle, he yanked his hand out of Taeyong’s pocket and quickly took a few steps back, not saying anything.  

“So… you can give him one of those. Jaehyun can get you some water.” Taeyong didn’t say anything else as he hunched over once again and went back to work.

 

About an hour later, they were done. Taeyong had found the last bone fragment, repaired the internal damage, and he now watched as Mark closed, giving him the occasional instruction on his suturing technique. Donghyuck was out cold, whether it be from the third hydrocodone or the pain.

“Yep… just like that,” Taeyong said, watching mark closely. Mark smiled but didn’t look up from what he was doing. The tips of his brows were turned slightly downwards, and his lips were pursed in concentration. He was on the last one. Once he was done, Mark let out a big breath he didn’t know he was holding. “Excellent.” Taeyong praised him on his technique and felt a warmth in his chest as he analyzed Mark’s work. “It’s nearly perfect, Mark.”

“Nearly?” This made Taeyong smile.

“Always the perfectionist! Yes, nearly. I’ll show you next time we find some rotten fruit for you to practice on how to get the sutures a little closer together. Then, it’ll be even closer to perfect.” Taeyong took his gloves off and threw them onto the pile of things they needed to dispose of. “So, from here, we can switch off checking vitals every half-hour or so. Until then, I say we let him get as much sleep as he can.” Mark nodded.

“And what are we gonna do about…?” Mark gestured to the other side of the hangar where Doyoung, Jeno, and Jungwoo were. Taeyong’s smile dimmed, his post-surgery high wearing off. He was reminded of what he did.

“Uh, not sure yet.” Taeyong muttered, staring down at his hands. The was a spot of dried blood on his wrist, and he rubbed at it with the sleeve of his jacket. After a few vigorous rubs, the spot seemed to go away, but he didn’t stop rubbing.  

“Are _you_ okay?” Mark asked. Taeyong stopped rubbing his wrist. When he did, the skin was tinted an angry red. Taeyong didn’t look up from his wrist but gave Mark a weak nod that told Mark everything he needed to know. A stretch of silence rested between the two.

“Do you think they’re dangerous?” Mark asked, knowing Taeyong wanted to change the subject. He hadn’t had time to think about the rest of the newcomers, but now with the immediate problem solved, he took them in from afar. The guy- Donghyuck- was obviously not a threat, but there was something about that Doyoung character that was unnerving. He looked at the other two. They seemed pretty harmless, but Mark knew not to write people off that quickly. Taeyong sighed.

“At the moment, no. But, I don’t think we should let our guard down just yet. Doyoung, he’s…”

“Intense?” Mark offered. Taeyong gave a humorless chuckle at this.

“I was gonna say a complete ass, but yeah, intense works.”

\------

“Yeah, so these fuckers come out of nowhere! And they grab Jisung and oh my God,” Lucas looked over to where Taeyong and Jaehyun were talking in hushed whispers over their inventory stock. He lowered his voice to a whisper and leaned in, “you guys should’ve seen the look on Taeyong’s face. Like… even I was kinda creeped out.” Lucas was giving a dramatic reenactment of the day’s events to a captivated Mark and Jaemin. They sat in a tight circle and tried to keep their voices down. Lucas tried his best, but his best not nearly good enough. Every once in a while, his voice would go back to its default volume, and Jeno would shoot the trio a glare from the other side of the hangar.  Lucas turned to Mark. “Is that, like, a thing?”

“Is what a thing?”

“You know, going all beast mode? ‘Cuz he was… I could barely recognize him. Like, I don’t really remember much from when you guys ran into the Scavengers that had me,” a shudder ran up Lucas’ spine. He tried to ignore it and continued, “but I remember you and Jaehyun being badass. But this was… something different.” Jaemin rolled his eyes, both at Lucas’ dramatics and his obvious lack of ability to sniff out a touchy subject.

“Oh,” Mark hesitated, “well, I wasn’t there as long as Taeyong or Jaehyun, but, yeah, I mean in the C-Cells,” Mark stuttered for a moment and fought the urge to look around, as if someone was watching him, “the training is … effective.” Lucas nodded slowly but didn’t know what to say. He felt bad for even mentioning it. Mark was starting to get that far off look in his eyes that always came with talk of the past, so Lucas decided to go back to his story.

“And then that Donghyuck kid, like, yeah, I feel bad for him I guess. But wow, he’s annoying. He kept pushing.” Lucas continued.

“Really? He didn’t seem too bad,” Mark interjected, thinking back to the few words they’d exchanged. Lucas rolled his eyes.

“Wow, I wouldn’t take you as weak for redheads, but okay.” Lucas let out a bellowing laugh as Mark scrambled to defend himself. Lucas didn’t let him, “Hey, don’t worry, I’m kidding, bro.” He chuckled a few more times. “Honestly, I’m sure he’s fine all doped up, but trust me, the second he opens his mouth when he wakes up, you’ll see what I’m talking about.” Mark blinked.

“Yeah, yeah okay, you guys are getting off topic. Get on with it,” Jaemin said. He was clutching a mug in his hands, the perfume of shitty instant coffee trailing pleasantly with the steam into the air. The smell was comforting, it reminded him of his mother. He was finally relaxed, now that Donghyuck wasn’t screaming, Jisung was safe inside the plane, and he had his coffee.  

“So anyways, the guy’s already pushing it. And then Doyoung obviously couldn’t take a hint to, like, stop. At this point, Taeyong is basically snarling.” Lucas paused to give a cheesy imitation of wolf, which, unsurprisingly, had Mark giggling in no time. “Then Donghyuck goes to grab our fucking suitcase and BAM!” he yelled, making a finger gun and pointing it Mark with one eye closed. Jaemin jumped at this, spilling a few drops of coffee onto his sweatpants. He shot a half-hearted glare over to Lucas. “down with the redhead!”  

“Jesus,” Mark whispered.

“And they have a car? Like a working car?” Jaemin asked while rubbing his pants where the dark liquid had already stained the fabric. Lucas nodded excitedly.

“Yes! It’s this dinged up van, but it works! Like, the engine turned on and everything. It was weird, dude.” The three of them sat in a moment of silence, remembering times when cars were as common as oxygen.

“Mark!” Taeyong yelled from afar, “you’re up.” Right after saying this, he turned back to his whispered conversation with Jaehyun.

“Duty calls,” Mark said before standing up and headed over to where Donghyuck was still sleeping. Jaemin and Lucas both looked at each other and laughed at Mark’s corniness.

Mark didn’t know why, but he found himself trying really hard not wake Donghyuck up as he approached him. He was either a heavy sleeper, or the drugs were still working, because this was the second round of vitals that he and Taeyong had done, and the boy didn’t budge. They didn’t have thermometers or a blood pressure cuff, so everything had to be done manually. Mark went through the checklist he’d gone over with Taeyong many times before.

  1. Blood pressure.



They didn’t have a cuff, but Taeyong said he’d do it manually once Donghyuck was awake.

Check.

  1. Respiratory rate.



Mark counted about 18 breaths per minute, which was a little on the lower side. But Taeyong said that this could be because of the hydrocodone. As long as it didn’t drop below 16 breaths per minute, they were fine.

Check.

Mark gingerly picked up Donghyuck’s wrist, again careful not to wake him up. He had to push up his sweatshirt sleeve, which normally hung down a little past his fingertips, so his fingers would be free to take the pulse. While he was measuring, he noticed how small Donghyuck’s wrist was. He could wrap his entire hand around it and he still had room to spare. Pulse was around 60 beats per minute. Pretty normal.

Check.

This is the one Mark was dreading. It was simple, really. Since they didn’t have a thermometer, all he had to do was feel Donghyuck’s forehead and make sure it wasn’t hot. Simple enough. Mark pulled his sleeve back again and placed his hand on Donghyuck’s forehead. He had to brush back the bright hairs that were sticking to his forehead. After brushing them back once, a few strands floated back onto Donghyuck’s forehead, so Mark had to brush them back again. When he did this, he didn’t notice Donghyuck’s eyelids twitch until it was too late.

“What the fuck are you doing?!” Mark looked down in horror at Donghyuck’s very open eyes and froze, his hand still on his forehead.

“I-I-” Mark stammered. Donghyuck pushed Mark’s hand off his forehead and hastily attempted to sit up. He realized it was a bad decision when felt sharp pain shoot down his leg.

“Ah!” he yelled and laid back down on the ground.

“Uh, yeah, you shouldn’t move,” Mark finally found his words. He tried to calm down, his body was on high alert. Mark was surprised that he could even get startled anymore. Donghyuck had caught him off guard, and now he had to clench his fists and resist the urge to fight. He heard footsteps coming towards them.

“Hm, ya think?” Donghyuck asked, voice laced with sarcasm. He was gritting his teeth in pain. His eyes were wide, darting around, trying to make sense of his surroundings.

“Hyuck!” It was Jeno’s voice, getting louder as he approached and eventually made his way to the other side of Donghyuck. “You’re awake!”

“Oh, thank God, someone who’s not an idiot,” Donghyuck shot Mark a look, “Jeno, ah,” he winced again as he accidentally moved his leg again, “where are we?” Mark frowned at Donghyuck’s teasing and noted how he had visibly relaxed when Jeno arrived. Before Jeno got to reply, the three were joined by Doyoung and Jungwoo, who both looked relieved the see Donghyuck awake and alive. Behind them, Taeyong followed with Jaehyun in tow. Donghyuck’s face relaxed as he saw his other two companions. Then he saw Taeyong.

“Oh, hell no!” he tried to scramble away, letting out another shout of pain when he tried to move his leg.

“I said don’t move,” Mark muttered, earning a glare from Donghyuck. Jeno put his hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder.

“It’s okay, Hyuck.” Mark stared at Jeno’s hand on Donghyuck’s shoulder as he stopped moving, annoying that he didn’t listen to him.

“Okay? I’m sorry, did you miss the psychopath in the room?” Donghyuck yelled. Taeyong visibly flinched at this, knowing he deserved it. He stopped a few feet away from where Donghyuck was lying.

“He saved your life, Hyuck,” Jungwoo added in quietly.

“Saved my- yeah, after almost taking it! Give the man an award,” Donghyuck said, voice slightly high pitched. Mark furrowed his brows. He was starting to understand what Lucas was talking about. “Doyoung? Please tell me you’re not buying this bullshit.” All eyes flew to Doyoung, who grimaced.

“I’m not _buying_ anything, Hyuck.” He looked towards Taeyong’s direction with a glare that Taeyong wondered was now solely reserved for him. Doyoung frowned. “At the moment, however,” he hesitated, frown deepening, “we don’t have many options.” Donghyuck opened his mouth in disgust and surprise at this.

“Look.” Taeyong spoke for the first time. He swallowed down the tremble in his voice that threatened to make an appearance and steeled his face. “You can’t really move right now, and probably won’t for a little while. If you could just let me check your-” as he spoke, he took a slow step towards Donghyuck, too close in Donghyuck’s book. He tried to scramble away and was once more met with pain at the prospect of moving.

“Noooo, no way. You’re not touching me.” Taeyong stopped moving but tried to talk again.

“Please,” Donghyuck hesitated at the desperation in Taeyong’s voice. “I need to check your leg.” Donghyuck then shook his head, swinging it from left to right in wide strokes.

“No,” he said again. He saw that Taeyong was going to plead again and was afraid he might actually relent. As much as he hated to admit it, the guy begging for Donghyuck to let him help him was not the same person who shot him.

“He can do it.” Silence followed as everyone looked at the trajectory of Donghyuck’s extended arm, all the way to the tip of his finger, which was pointed at a wide-eyed Mark.

“Me?” Donghyuck rolled his eyes at this boy, whoever he was.

“No, the person right behind you,” Donghyuck replied dryly. He was almost disappointed when Mark didn’t fall for the trick. “Yeah, you know how to do this shit, right?”

“I mean, theoretically, yes, but-”

“Cool,” Donghyuck said without a smile, “it’s settled then.”

 

Mark wanted to be anywhere other than where he was.

Donghyuck flinched as the cold metal of the stethoscope was pressed against the crease of his leg, way too close to where the sun don’t shine. He could feel the cold through what little pants he had left on his left leg. He thought that fully extending his leg to check for motor function would’ve been the worst part of the checkup, but he was wrong.

“Watch it, buddy.” Donghyuck decided it was his job to make Mark’s job as hard as possible. He was in pain and needed a pick-me-up. He smiled in satisfaction as Mark blushed and looked away, keeping the stethoscope in its extremely awkward position. Donghyuck wouldn’t admit it out loud, but he was glad that most of the bystanders decided to give him some privacy. Jeno refused to leave his side, but that didn’t bother Donghyuck. Besides him, it was just Mark and Taeyong.

“Alright, femoral pulse is normal,” Mark said and quickly pulled the stethoscope away. Taeyong nodded from where he was standing behind Mark, reluctantly keeping his hands behind his back, as per Donghyuck’s request.

“Good. Last one: I need you to check the distal pulse. You’re gonna get this one from the popliteal artery.” Upon Mark’s questioning look, he added, “behind the knee.” Mark nodded and took Donghyuck’s knee, placing the stethoscope behind Donghyuck’s bare knee. He flinched at the contact and Mark muttered a sorry. Donghyuck decided he was satisfied with the shade of pink currently tinting Marky’s cheeks and decided to give him pass, staying quiet instead of teasing him further.

“Okay, distal pulse is normal.” Taeyong nodded again at this.

 

From a distance, Jungwoo watched the checkup, curiosity in his eyes. He walked over to Jaehyun, who seemed the most cordial of the bunch. He was bent down, starting another fire, this time he was making it in their normal spot, right up against the plane.

“Hey, where did you get that stethoscope? And all the stuff they were using, the surgical stuff?” Jaehyun paused at the question, and then looked up at Jungwoo. At this angle, he towered over him, and the faint light of the kindling fire illuminated light blue streaks in Jungwoo’s hair that Jaehyun hadn’t noticed before.

“A,” hesitated, and then started again, “a friend,” he finished, a sad smile gracing his pink lips. Jungwoo tilted his head in confusion, but when he was about to ask for elaboration, Jaehyun turned back to his work, until a full fire was finally blazing.

 

The checkup was finally over.

 “So… I’m not gonna have to wear a peg leg or anything like that?” Mark rolled his eyes and Taeyong just took a breath before he answered curtly.

“No, no peg leg. It seems like the wound isn’t affecting your circulation, which means you’ll eventually get most, if not all, function back. As long as it doesn’t get infected.”

“Wow… fantastic.”

\------

“There’s no way we’re leaving Hyuck here alone,” said Jeno. Everyone was reluctantly gathered around the fire Jaehyun rekindled from earlier, the need for warmth overriding the need to be petty. Even though they were all in the same vicinity, they were still divided, made clear by the way everyone sat. On the right side of the fire, Jisung was sandwiched between Jaemin and Mark, head leaning on his brother’s good shoulder. Taeyong and Jaehyun hovered in the center, tending to the fire. Taeyong was getting ready to cook something. On the left, Donghyuck was leaning against the plane’s exterior, bare leg extended. Jeno was on his left and Jungwoo on his right, who sat next to Doyoung.

“We can’t just leave them wondering where we went,” Jungwoo answered. Taeyong’s head was racing. The “them” in question were the other two people that were apparently part of the others’ group. He could see where Jungwoo was coming from; if two people from his group disappeared without explanation, there’s no telling what he’d do.

“He’s in no condition to travel right now, you have to understand,” Taeyong interjected.

“Uh, _he’s_ sitting right here, and _he_ can speak for himself,” Donghyuck quickly added. He tried to shift positions to get more comfortable and had to bite down hard on his inner bottom lip to contain the scream that threatened to bubble over. “Okay, so maybe _he_ wouldn’t mind chilling for a few days,” he added meekly, trying to play it cool.

“If he’s staying, I’m staying,” Jeno stated. On the inside, Donghyuck was relieved to hear this. Sure, the people didn’t seem too bad, but he didn’t want to be alone with strangers, and as much as he hated to admit it, he was still kind of terrified of Taeyong.

“Oh, joy!” Lucas yelled sarcastically, earning a scowl from both Donghyuck and Jeno.

“I can go get them tomorrow in the van, or at least let them know that we’re alive,” Jungwoo replied, and then looked at Doyoung, “please, Do, you know they must be worried.”

“That could work… I think I’ll stay here,” Doyoung answered, shooting a look at Taeyong that wasn’t subtle by any means. It was a look that clearly communicated the reason why Doyoung wanted to stay: he didn’t trust Taeyong. Taeyong met Doyoung’s glare. The flames created shadows that seemed to distort around Doyoung’s face, illuminating his menacing stare. Taeyong stood up.

“Jaehyun, could you help me get the food?” Jaehyun nodded and the two headed to the corner of the hangar where they kept the supplies. The second they were out of earshot of everyone else, Taeyong turned to Jaehyun while they walked.

“I don’t trust it.” He was picking his fingernails nervously.

_Never let them get the upper hand. Keep control._

“What are you thinking?” Jaehyun replied, the familiar deep voice already slowing Taeyong’s thumping heart.

“I just don’t trust it. How do we know he won’t come back with more people to ambush us? We have no control over where he goes, who he talks to.” As Taeyong talked, he bent down to picked up a bag of black beans and rice, handing Jaehyun the bag of beans.

_Never let the enemy out of your site._

“Hm.” They stopped once they got to the supply corner. “What if I went with him?” Taeyong’s rifling paused.

“Went with him?”

“Yeah, that way I can keep an eye on him, make sure they’re not trying to con us. You should be here, in case anything happens with Donghyuck. I know Mark can hold his own, but that’s a lot of responsibility.” Taeyong stood up and pondered in silence.

“I guess that makes sense… dammnit, Jae, but what if you get hurt?” Jaehyun gave Taeyong a pointed look and punched him lightly in the shoulder with a tentative chuckle.

“You know all too well I can hold my own in a fight.” He meant it as a joke, but Jaehyun’s voice sobered as he spoke. The two stood in silence as memories washed over them. Taeyong remembered standing in the arena, eyes clenched shut. He remembered opening them to see Jaehyun standing across from them, his face mirroring the horror of his own.  

_The ring of the bell resounded in Taeyong’s ears. It was time to fight._

_Electricity crawled up his spine when he refused to._

_He saw the same current lash through Jaehyun’s tormented eyes._

_He begged Jaehyun to do it._

_Do it._

_Make it quick._

Taeyong sucked in a breath that didn’t feel possible and got up on his toes to rest his forehead on Jaehyun’s shoulder. When he did, he felt the subtle tremors travel through Jaehyun’s body.

“I know, Jae.” They breathed. “I know.”  

\-----

It was the middle of the night. Everyone was packed into the plane, the newcomers taking the back half of the plane. The placements were made conveniently made so that the newbies were essentially trapped in the plane. They would have to go through Taeyong, Mark, and Jaehyun to get out, which made Doyoung anxious. He sat awake in a window seat, too on edge to sleep. That, plus the fact that there were various whimpers coming from the front of the plane. He stared out the dark window, imagining he was flying through a thunderstorm to some place far, far away from everything. He could almost hear the pitter-patter of soft raindrops on the roof of the plane. He could almost see the flashes of light and feel the plane quiver with turbulence. He thought back to when he was young, and when useless troubles kept him awake at night. His grandmother would turn on her noise machine and read to him until he drifted into peaceful sleep.

He heard a noise coming from the front of the plane. He slowly crawled out of the seat and creeped up to the front, where he saw Taeyong open the plane door and disappear into the darkness. In a matter of seconds, Doyoung decided that he was going to follow him. He slinked out of the plane after carefully dodging the various limbs that were sprawled across the aisles. When he passed Mark, he saw him squirming on the ground, making the whimpering noises that had been echoing through the plane.

Doyoung exited the plane just in time to see Taeyong quietly open the hangar door and fade into the night. He continued following him, keeping a good distance. Once he was outside, he saw Taeyong turn the corner and climb up a ladder to the roof of the hangar. Doyoung waited for a bit before he climbed up after him. Once he got to the top, he saw Taeyong sitting on the edge of the ledge-less roof, legs hanging over the edge.

“Took you long enough.” Doyoung was startled when Taeyong’s voice pierced the silence.

“Y-you knew?” For the first time, it was Doyoung who was caught by surprise. Taeyong looked at him from his spot on the edge.

“Yeah, you’re really not that subtle. Also, I’m kind of trained to know these things…” Taeyong’s voice trailed at the end, ending in nearly a whisper. He looked out across the expanse of the demolished airport around them, a pensive look gracing his features. He wished he could stuff the murky clouds, hanging low in the sky, into his ears, all the way into his brain. Then, maybe he wouldn’t be able to hear Donghyuck’s screams, or Mark’s nightmares. Maybe he wouldn’t be able to remember how Jisung looked at him in horror earlier.

Doyoung inched closer to him, eventually standing next to Taeyong’s sitting form, putting a lot of space in between them.

“You’re not gonna push me off right?” Doyoung asked the biting question. Taeyong just sighed and gave a weak no, which surprised Doyoung. He was expecting Taeyong to push back. In the matter of a day, he had gotten used to Taeyong’s confrontational mood, but now he just sounded tired. Doyoung couldn’t really see Taeyong’s face while he was standing, but he could see from behind the way his head was hung low.

“Uh uh, no, you don’t get to act fucking guilty.” Doyoung snapped, causing Taeyong’s head to whip towards him. When he turned to Doyoung, Doyoung could see the gleam present in Taeyong’s eyes, illuminated by the faint moonlight peeking through the night clouds. He wondered if he came up here to cry, and then remembered Donghyuck’s cries and decided he didn’t care why Taeyong came up here.

“Excuse me?” One of Taeyong’s brows lifted, and Doyoung could see the beginnings of a fire kindling behind Taeyong’s eyes.

“You heard me. You don’t get to sit up here and wallow and shit. Own up to your actions. You didn’t have to do it.” The intensity of Doyoung’s voice was steadily rising. Taeyong looked like he was about to refute Doyoung’s point, but instead sighed looked back to the expanse beyond the hangar instead.

“You would think,” he mumbled, under his breath but loud enough for Doyoung to hear.

“What’s that’s supposed to mean?” Doyoung crossed his arms tightly, looking down at Taeyong, who didn’t answer.

_Never show weakness._

Doyoung realized if he was going to get any information, he might have to take a more direct approach. “So, you were an Agent once?” This seemed to get Taeyong’s attention.

“Not quite.” Taeyong shifted nervously from left to right. He let his legs swing freely underneath them. “You have to be trained extensively before you become an actual Agent. I was about to take the test, but we escaped first.” Doyoung tried to picture Taeyong as an Agent, bringing children in to be beaten down and built back up again. For some reason, it didn’t fit in his mind.

“How?”

“It doesn’t matter.” Taeyong began picking at his fingernails after he answered. “We’re here now.” Doyoung scoffed.

“Yeah, we sure are.” Silence followed. “Do you ever sleep?”

“Not really, when its dark outside. Usually when the sun’s about to come up, I try to catch a few hours right before everyone else wakes up.”

“Yeah, I can see why. God, does that Mark kid ever stop making noise?” Taeyong bristled at this.

“You know what, fuck off! You have no idea what you’re talking about.” Doyoung hid a smile. People gave away the most information when they were riled up.

“You’re right,” he answered slowly, “I don’t. Why don’t you tell me?” Taeyong opened his mouth to retort back, but caught himself, much to Doyoung’s disappointment. 

“You can’t understand.” Silence followed yet again.

Doyoung hadn’t noticed the gun lying next to Taeyong on his other side and tensed when he realized its presence, looking at Taeyong warily. Taeyong shrugged.

“You can never be too careful.”

“Is that a threat?” Doyoung asked, clenching his fists in case it was.

“Only if you’re planning on doing something stupid.” Taeyong’s eyes met Doyoung’s, intensities matching. Doyoung felt a wave of exhaustion finally hit and realized he probably wouldn’t be getting any information tonight.

“The only thing I’m planning on doing is going to bed. Have fun playing watchdog or whatever.” Doyoung turned to leave, not waiting for Taeyong’s reply. When he was almost to the ladder, he stopped and turned back to Taeyong. “Hey!” He yelled at him, causing Taeyong’s head to move to face Doyoung’s direction. There was one thing that  had been bothering Doyoung all day.

“Yes?”

“How come you shot Donghyuck?  Why didn’t you shoot me? I mean, if you have ‘perfect aim’?” he tried not to mock too hard. He was genuinely curious.

_Know your enemy._

“It wouldn’t have hurt as much…if I shot you instead of one of them.” Taeyong hated himself for saying the words. He didn’t want to be able to know people like this. He didn’t want to know how to break them.

Doyoung didn’t know what to do with that answer but picked up on Taeyong’s tone. He was speaking from experience. Doyoung nodded slowly and started down the ladder, leaving Taeyong alone on his perch in the dark. As he climbed down the rusty ladder, Doyoung thought about what Taeyong said.

 _“I’m trained to know these things_.”

The words bounced around in his head. He conjured up the image of a bleeding Donghyuck, of the screams that Doyoung couldn’t help but feel responsible for. He felt just as helpless as he had earlier in the day all over again. When his feet finally hit ground, and he headed back into the hangar, he realized, in horror, that Taeyong was right.

It wouldn’t have hurt as much. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There we have it! Honestly, I'm having so much fun writing this. Our poor bois, will they ever learn to get along? Also, get ready for some more characters soon! (#no spoilers)
> 
> Also, I promise there will be more clarification about the world itself soon (the war, government, the Cells, ect.) as we go along. Pinky promise! I like to pretend I'm mysterious sometimes. 
> 
> Twitter: @indi__ghost  
> Curious Cat: curiouscat.me/indi__ghost
> 
>  
> 
> ~Till next time~


	3. On the Road Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun and Jungwoo go on a little road trip  
> Cue the "are we there, yet?"
> 
> Chapter Content Warnings: cursing, mentions of violence

When the sun started to creep up and spill over the hazy city in the distance, Taeyong snuck back into the hangar. He made sure to tiptoe around the sleeping bodies spread about the plane aisles. Unbeknownst to him, his caution was wasted. Everyone knew about Taeyong’s nightly excursions, but there seemed to be a silent consensus to not acknowledge it.

Taeyong found a row of seats. Before he sat, he yanked the dark blue jacket off his frame, throwing it down on the ground underneath the seats, hating that he needed it to stay warm outside. Then he settled in, back to the wall. He rested his head against the cold wall behind him and sat in silence, sleep evading him as it always did. He remembered back in the Cells when he couldn’t sleep, he would count heads. Granted, there were only two heads to count, but something about looking at the tops of Mark and Jaehyun’s heads, knowing they were safe and sleeping, gave him the peace that counting sheep never could when he was a child. He could remember the night that he started doing it like it was yesterday.

_It was the night after they were done with Phase One of Agent training. That next day, Phase Two began._

_It was the night after they first made them fight each other._

_All three boys were drained in every sense of the word. Taeyong was exhausted, but he couldn’t fall asleep. He thought back to when his mother used to tell him to count sheep when he couldn’t sleep as a kid. He remembered staring at the blank gray walls and trying hard to imagine the fluffy, innocent creatures leaping against the cold walls. He couldn’t. The only sources of warmth in the room were the two sleeping figures next to him. He looked over at Jaehyun, who had fallen asleep, still sitting up against the wall. His long eyelashes extended over his fresh black eye. His eyes trailed to Mark, who fidgeted in his sleep, and winced whenever he moved his left arm. They were in pain, but they were alive. This was enough for Taeyong, for now. He decided to just keep looking back and forth between their breathing bodies._

_1_

_2_

_1_

_2_

_Until he finally fell into a restless sleep._

Now, he had more heads to count. In the darkness, his weary eyes first found Jaemin on the floor, and, by default, Jisung’s smaller frame right next to him. The two somehow fit in the narrow aisle floor. Their heads shared the same cheap pillow that they gave out on airplane rides.

He remembered when they first escaped the Cells, about four months ago. They found Jaemin and Jisung hiding out in some cave in the woods. The two brothers were almost starving, but still somehow surviving. He remembered the looks on their faces when he, Mark, and Jaehyun stumbled into that same cave. Jisung’s legs were shaking, but he still tried to match the determined look on his older brother’s face. Jaemin was crouched down, a rock in his hand, ready to fight. Taeyong remembered admiring the pink-haired boy’s courage. Thankfully, it never came to a fight, and the night ended in an awkward silence when Jaemin said they could share the cave for the night. When the fractured group woke up, they seemed to have made an unspoken decision to stick together. Taeyong was grateful that they did.

1.

2.

Taeyong’s eyes moved to the other side of Jisung, where Mark was huddled up near the youngest, in an almost protective manner. He was laying perpendicular to Jisung and Jaemin, body stretching along the floor underneath a row of middle seats. Taeyong smiled. Mark definitely had a soft spot for the kid. Taeyong was convinced that Mark had the biggest heart of them all, and he was constantly amazed at how Mark could have so much good left in him after all they’d been through. Mark’s hands were clenched in fists and his brows were furrowed down, but no sound escaped his mouth. Taeyong was happy to see that his nightmares seemed to have stopped for the night.

3.

Sprawled across the seats above Mark was Lucas, who had a little bit of drool trailing down the side of his mouth, and he let out an occasional loud snore. His long limbs spilled over the seats, and one of his big hands dangled right next to Mark’s ear, occasionally brushing up against it. Whenever this happened, Mark would furrow his brows deeper and shift away from Lucas’s hanging hand. Taeyong smiled again. They had only known Lucas for a little over a week, but he and Mark seemed close. Lucas made Mark smile, and that made him okay in Taeyong’s book.

4.

Lastly, Taeyong’s eyes found Jaehyun in the row of seats against the other side of the wall. He still slept sitting up. The position never looked comfortable, but Taeyong knew that the feeling of his back against the wall gave Jaehyun comfort. Much like when he was awake, Jaehyun looked calm. He didn’t move in his sleep. Jaehyun was always cool and collected. He reminded Taeyong of ice, and he exuded an almost numbing energy that Taeyong treasured when his demons threatened to boil over.  But Taeyong knew that, like a frozen ocean, Jaehyun’s cool exterior trapped tumultuous waters underneath.

5.

 

\----

 

Taeyong woke up to a grip on his shoulder, and even though it was soft, he shot up, body tensed.

“Woah, hey. It’s just me,” Jaemin said, palms open in front of him. Taeyong blinked a few times and, after a few breaths, slowly relaxed his body.

“Morning, sunshine.” Jaemin’s voice came out again, with a small smile, letting Taeyong wake up before he spoke again. He was clutching a mug of coffee in his hand. “I think they’re getting ready to head out.” Taeyong gave Jaemin an acknowledging nod.

“Mkay, give me a second,” he replied, eyes still lidded from sleep. Jaemin headed back down the aisle towards the entrance of the plane as Taeyong went to the corner and fished out the one stick of deodorant they all shared. He glanced into the cracked mirror of the middle bathroom and did his best to smooth his matted hair down. After a few seconds of running his fingers through the dulled locks, he gave and decided he didn’t need to be red carpet ready to deal with the mess outside.

 

Overall, the mood seemed lighter than the day before. When Taeyong exited the plane, he saw that most of the boys were gathered at the front of the hangar, still standing with awkward amounts of space in between them. Mark and Lucas seemed to be whispering to each other, and Taeyong was almost positive that they were gossiping and a hundred percent positive that if they were, it was Lucas who instigated it. Taeyong saw Jaehyun walk over and offer Jeno some coffee. Jeno accepted the coffee with a silent nod and a polite smile. He waited to take a sip until after Jaehyun turned around. Taeyong had to hold in a chuckle when he saw Jeno almost gag. Jaemin, on the other hand, didn’t hold in his laughter as he approached Jeno.

“Sorry, bud, all the Starbucks are closed this time of the year.” This was accented by more of Jaemin’s laughter, followed by Jisung’s quiet laughs.

“Jesus, how do you drink this stuff? It tastes like straight up jet fuel,” Jeno replied, grimacing as he swallowed the liquid. His face was seemingly unamused, but the upwards curve of lip gave him away. Jaemin held his mug under his nose and breathed in deeply, closing his eyes.

“Nah, this stuff right here? It’s the nectar of the gods.” Jisung rolled his eyes at his brother’s drama. Jeno just gave Jaemin a look as if his hair was on fire and then walked away, towards where the rest of the guys were gathered around the fire and Donghyuck. As Jeno walked away, he caught eyes with Jaehyun and, panicking, raised his mug up in a cheer and took another sip from the black liquid in the cup. Jaemin and Jisung busted out in laughter as Jeno fought to keep a straight face until Jaehyun turned around again. Jeno shot a look over to the brothers and then finally joined the circle around the fire.

“Are you sure you can trust that guy?” Doyoung asked Jungwoo, rocking his permanent scowl.

“Relax, Do,” Jungwoo paused and looked up to where Jaehyun was. The other group of boys were in a circle at the front of the hangar, saying their goodbyes. Jaehyun was currently hugging Jisung. He had picked Jisung up mid-hug and was twirling his around, while the rest of the boys laughed. “He doesn’t seem the type that would hurt someone unnecessarily.”

“I hate to say this, but I agree. He doesn’t seem all that bad,” Jeno piped in, holding his forgotten coffee in his hand.

“You say that now…. if anything happens to you, I swear I’ll kill everyone in here,” said Doyoung. At this, Jungwoo laughed.

“Relax, I can fend for myself if need be. But, like I said, I don’t think it’ll be necessary.”

“Yeah, yeah, Jungwoo’s gonna be fine. If you ask me, it’s us we need to be worried about,” Donghyuck said, wincing as he shifted on the ground. “We’re the ones that are stuck here with the psychopath and his barely competent nurse.”

“Bah,” Jungwoo said and reached down to ruffle Donghyuck’s hair. “You guys will be fine. Think on the bright side, now you guys have some time to bond.” He laughed again, “And, come on, Hyuck, you’re well enough to insult people, so I’d say they’re more than barely competent.” Donghyuck frowned at his hair being ruffled but stayed silent after that.

“God, don’t remind me that we’re gonna be stuck in here with the loose cannon,” Doyoung added.

“Just be safe, Woo, okay? We’ll be fine here, just come back safe.” Jeno said and reached over to hug Jungwoo, who welcomed the hug with open arms.

“I will. I promise.” Jungwoo said, patting Jeno’s back before he released him. He then leaned down to give Donghyuck an awkward hug, before Donghyuck stopped him.

“Nope. We’re not doing the hugging thing. It’s not necessary, cuz we’re gonna see you real soon after you get back safe and sound with the others.” Jungwoo smiled at this, knowing this was Donghyuck’s version of goodbye. Lastly, Jungwoo headed to Doyoung and gave him a sideways hug. After the half-hug was done, Doyoung turned to Jungwoo.

“You’re gonna be careful?” he asked Jungwoo.

Jungwoo answered with a smile.

“Always am.”

 

\------

 

The first few minutes of the ride were quiet, both Jungwoo and Jaehyun recovering from saying goodbye to their friends. After the stretch of silence, Jungwoo was the one who finally broke it.

“So, any music requests?” At this, Jaehyun looked at Jungwoo, cool mask broken by a confused look as he leaned forward in excitement.

“E-excuse me? The radio can’t possibly be working in this thing.” Jungwoo laughed and looked away from the road to soak in Jaehyun’s stunned face.

“Nah, I’m just joking. Just wanted to see how you’d react.”

“Oh.” Jaehyun gave half a smile and settled back in his seat. Jungwoo looked back at the road.

“Sorry, didn’t mean to get your hopes up. If you really want music, I could sing?”

“No,” Jaehyun chuckled, “it’s no big deal. Funny joke.” After a few breaths, he continued. “Are we not going the way we came?” He noticed that they weren’t headed to the bridge. Jungwoo shook his head.

“It’s too risky to drive on that bridge. We got lucky yesterday that there weren’t any Agents on the road. The way we’re going is a little out of the way, but it’s safer.”

“Oh, okay, that makes sense.”

The van was once again engulfed in an awkward silence. About fifteen minutes of this silence, the van hit a bump in the road, and Jungwoo noticed Jaehyun’s hand clench against the seat.

“Damn, do you get car sick? Sorry, I can’t do much about the bumps. It’s not like anyone paves the roads anymore, huh? And in this piece of junk? Not the most comfortable ride.”

“No, no, it’s not that.” Jaehyun paused for a second and inhaled loudly as they hit another bump. “It’s just that I haven’t really been in a car in… a while.”

“Ah.” Jungwoo didn’t know what to say to this and instead focused on driving. After a few more seconds of silence, Jaehyun continued.

“Actually, the last time I was in a car was when I got taken.” Again, Jungwoo didn’t say anything, so Jaehyun continued. “It was a van kinda like this one, but the windows were blacked out.” Jaehyun stared at the road in front of them as he spoke, focusing on the faded yellow and white lines that decorated the asphalt.

“Oh, wow. I bet that was… terrifying. Were there other people in there, too?” Jungwoo ‘s voice was hesitant as he spoke, hoping he wasn’t pushing too much. He was relieved when Jaehyun answered his question.

“Not at first, no. Just the two Agents that took me in the front of the car. But then they made another stop after we’d been driving for a while and that’s when I first met Taeyong, actually.” Jaehyun’s fingers now fiddled around on the butt of the pistol that rested in his lap. Jungwoo saw this in his periphery but noticed that he didn’t feel nervous about it.

“Ah, okay. You guys seem close. Did all of the guys in your group come from the Cells?” Jungwoo noticed Jaehyun’s hand clench around the gun at the actual mention of the Cells. Jaehyun shook his head.

“Just Taeyong, Mark, and me.” His voice sounded more restrained when he answered this question. Jungwoo nodded.

“Well, if it makes you feel any better, I kinda feel the same way about your guns. I haven’t seen a gun since, well, ever actually. It’s so weird to see you guys just carrying them around.” Jaehyun didn’t respond. “Did you guys just steal them from the Cells?”

“With help, yeah.”

“Help from the same friend who gave you the medical supplies?” Jungwoo held his breath when he asked, letting his curiosity get the best of him.

Jaehyun simply answered the question with a nod of his head but didn’t reply. He just kept tracking the faint lines on the road with his eyes. Jungwoo caught the hint the conversation was over. Neither of them said a word for a while, but Jungwoo noticed that Jaehyun tucked the pistol into his back pocket, out of Jungwoo’s site.

The two had been driving for a while, and the sun was now hanging low in the sky, threatening to recede behind the skyline any minute. The only noise coming from inside the van was Jungwoo’s faint humming. Jaehyun thought it was odd, staring out the window at ruins of the small town they were in. Jungwoo’s voice didn’t fit with the images outside of the window. It was soft and sweet, the exact opposite of everything in his world. The humming was starting to become quieter, and Jaehyun looked over to see that Jungwoo’s eyelids were drooping.

“We’ve been going for a while, do you want me to drive so you can take a break?” Jungwoo’s eyes opened fully at Jaehyun’s voice.

“You know what, that might be a good idea. We wouldn’t be doing anyone any good if we crashed because I was dozing. Let’s get through this town first, and then we can switch.” Jaehyun nodded.

“How much farther, anyway?”

“Hm, probably about an hour? I’ve been driving pretty slow just so we don’t make a lot of noise. Once we hit the end of this town, we’ll be mainly on backroads for the rest, so it’s pretty easy.”

“Where exactly are we going, again?” Jaehyun was slightly uneasy, not knowing what he was headed into. He told himself to calm down, the boy in the driver’s seat didn’t look dangerous. He couldn’t fight his guard coming up. The only way to survive was to be careful.

“We are currently shacking up in an RV, at an old campground. It’s hidden from where any Agents go. We’ve had a few encounters with Scavengers, but we’re pretty good at holding our own. We’ve been moving locations every few weeks.” Jaehyun nodded at this, not liking the idea of being out in the open, even if it was deep in the woods.

Right as they were leaving the town they passed through, Jungwoo started slowing down so that he and Jaehyun could switch when they heard it. Jungwoo’s eyes widened at the sound of an engine approaching from the distance.

“Shit!” Jaehyun said, reaching into his back pocket to pull out his gun. Jungwoo looked at him with wide eyes.

“As much as I’m sure you know how to use that, I don’t think we have much of a chance against Agents.” He pulled the car off the road and parked it right against the tree line. “We should just go hide in the woods. They’ll just think it’s an abandoned car.” Jaehyun looked warily at Jungwoo.

“I don’t know…” he started protesting. The roar of the approaching engine got louder. Jungwoo reached behind him and grabbed a bag.

“Come on! We don’t have time to argue.” He pulled the bag up to the front, shut the engine off, and killed the lights. Then he opened his door and hopped out of the car. Jaehyun didn’t follow for a few seconds, and then sighed and opened his door. He shut the door slowly, as to not make any noise, and followed Jungwoo into the forest. They ran through the trees, stopping once there was no way they’d be seen from the road, but close enough to hear what was happening. Jaehyun crouched down behind a tree, and Jungwoo followed suit. They sat there, breathing heavily, but not talking.

Jaehyun was breathing deeply, but he felt calm. The hand that held his gun did so unwaveringly. He had it aimed and ready to fire at whatever came for them. Jungwoo kneeled behind him, and Jaehyun could feel how fast his heart was beating. They heard the car approach and stop, and then they heard the Agents coming out of their car. One of them must have looked into the van because then they heard his muffled voice.

“No one inside.” They then heard the voice of the other Agent approaching. It was deeper than the first guy’s voice.

“Well, then they can’t be far.” The first guy laughed.

“They? Come on, Johnny, I don’t think anyone’s driving this piece of shit.”

“I’m telling you, I heard something. If they’re on foot, they must be close.” Jungwoo gasped at this, and Jaehyun turned around to put his hand over Jungwoo’s mouth. With his other hand, he put a finger over his lips to signal him to be quiet.

“I’m tired, can we please just go? We’re supposed to be back at Base soon, and I need to contact King before that.” Jaehyun looked at Jungwoo in confusion. The people they heard didn’t sound like the Agents he was all too familiar with. Those Agents would’ve already shot the tires and headed into the woods to capture their targets.  

“Ten, I’m serious. I think they’re close. King can wait, and we don’t have to be back at Base for another hour,” the second guy, Johnny, said. Everything went silent for a second, and they heard the first guys, whose name appeared to be Ten, speak again.

“No, no, no, don’t you dare pout!” More silence. “Ugh! Fine, we’ll go look.” Jaehyun heard the two walk to the edge of the woods, and the sound of leaves crunching followed. Jungwoo gasped again, but it was muted by Jaehyun’s hand on his mouth. After Jungwoo finished, Jaehyun slowly let go of Jungwoo’s face. He put his finger to his lips again and then whispered.

“Stay here.” Jungwoo looked up at him with his wide eyes as Jaehyun stood up slowly and brought his pistol up next to his face. He put his back to the tree, waiting for the two Agents to enter his field of vision. The crunch of the leaves beneath their feet began to crescendo. Jaehyun took a deep breath and aimed his gun, waiting. He didn’t have to wait long, they soon came into sight. The two were walking, their own guns at the ready. Jaehyun’s fears were confirmed when he saw the dark blue jackets they had on, marking them as Agents. One was significantly taller than the other, and they both had severe black undercuts that heightened the dark shadows on their eyes. Jaehyun slowly touched the trigger of his pistol, and the click it made echoed through the trees. The noise caught the attention of the shorter Agent. The second he looked over towards the tree, Jaehyun sprung from behind the tree and aimed his gun at the taller one.

“Drop your fucking weapons.” Jungwoo, still crouched behind the tree, shivered as he heard Jaehyun’s voice. It reminded him of when they first met Taeyong. It was the same voice, cold and hard. He had trouble matching it with the Jaehyun that had been sitting in the van with him just a few minutes earlier. When the two Agents saw Jaehyun, they didn’t hesitate to raise their own guns. The one called Ten spoke.

“Hey, hey, hey, calm down, buddy, we aren’t here to hurt you.” The shorter one’s narrowed eyes were trained on Jaehyun, and it didn’t even look like he was blinking.

“Bullshit! I know what you’re here for. Not gonna happen.” The taller one, Johnny, spoke for the first time.

“Honestly, man, we aren’t here to take you in. Just put the gun down, and no one has to get hurt.” He looked at Jaehyun and noticed the jacket he was wearing. “Look, seriously, I know who you think we are, we’re not going to take you…we’re not gonna take you back there.” Jaehyun winced when Johnny said this.

“I’m not gonna say it again, put your weapons down, NOW!” Jaehyun yelled back.

“Alright, alright! Look, I’m gonna put my gun down. Don’t shoot.” Johnny started to lower his gun down to his side.

“Johnny, what the fuck?” Ten hissed back at his partner.

“On the ground,” Jaehyun said. Jungwoo once again shivered at the demanding tone of his voice. Johnny sighed and dropped his gun. It landed with a thud against the forest floor. Jaehyun turned to Ten. “You, too.”

“Like hell! How about you lower your weapon, first?”

“Not a chance.” Jaehyun took a few steps towards the pair. Johnny looked between Jaehyun and his partner.

“Ten, just do it.”

“Are you kidding me?”

“I’m not going to ask again!” Jaehyun yelled again, voice louder than the last time. He was within arm’s reach of the two Agents, and he trained his gun once again on Johnny, pointing the barrel right in between his eyes. From behind the tree, Jungwoo was amazed at how calm Johnny looked, even with a gun staring right at him. Ten looked at Jaehyun’s outstretched hand, still and even, and then grudgingly lowered his gun to the ground.

“There, ya happy?” Before Jaehyun could retort back, Johnny interrupted him.

“Okay, see, we did what you asked. Now it’s your turn.” He gestured to the gun still aimed at his head. Jaehyun blinked and then moved the gun away from Johnny’s face, still holding it in front of him. Ten rolled his eyes.

“Well, that’s about as good as it’s gonna get, apparently.”

“You’re damn right it is.” Jaehyun snapped back. Johnny sighed.

“Listen to me, we’re not here to take you in. I know what this looks like.” Johnny said. Jaehyun narrowed his eyes.

“Yeah, it looks like you’re fucking Agents, and bad ones at that.” At this, Ten scowled.

“Look here, you little-” Johnny interrupted him.

“Yes, we are Agents. No, we are not bad ones.” He shot a glare at Jaehyun. “But we’re the good guys I swear.” Jaehyun scoffed at this. “Listen, we’re working with an outside group, they call themselves the Shift. If you’d let us explain-” He started to pull up his sleeve as he spoke, but he never got the chance to show whatever it was he was trying to show them.

“Stop lying to me!” Jaehyun yelled as he pointed his gun once again at Johnny. Ten moved slightly towards Jaehyun but stopped when Jaehyun’s hand tightened on the trigger.

“Listen, you need to stop pointing that thing at my partner. He’s telling the truth,” Ten said. Jaehyun was about to reply when everyone was surprised at Jungwoo’s voice.

“I believe them.” Jungwoo slowly moved from behind the tree and stood next to Jaehyun, who looked over at him with a bewildered look.

“Are you kidding me?”

“Seriously, Jaehyun, I think they’re telling the truth. From what I know about Agents, if they wanted us dead, we already would’ve been.”

“You’re fucking right you would’ve been,” Ten chimed in. Jaehyun shot him a glare but didn’t say anything. He had to admit that Jungwoo had a point, they didn’t seem like normal Agents. Johnny spoke again.

“Please, listen to us. We can help you.” Jaehyun stayed quiet for a few moments and then he turned back to the two Agents, gun still trained on Johnny.

“No.” Then he just stared at Jonny, and the four guys waited on baited breaths. Jungwoo looked warily over at Jaehyun, who looked more determined than ever. Jungwoo was actually afraid that Jaehyun might kill the Agent, and for some reason that terrified him. Even Johnny looked a little uncertain. Then, after a few painful moments, Jaehyun sighed. “Leave. Just leave.” He then lowered his gun. Johnny seemed to let out a breath and then once he recovered spoke again.

“If you would just-”

“I said leave!” Jungwoo jumped at the volume of Jaehyun’s voice. Ten reached over and put a hand on Johnny’s arm, flicking his head back towards the entrance to the woods. Johnny nodded and they both turned around to head back to their car after retrieving their guns from the ground. After a few steps, Johnny stopped and turned towards Jaehyun and Jungwoo.

“There are going to be a lot of Agents on this road tonight. I would say wait to drive again until tomorrow.” Jaehyun furrowed his brows but gave a slight nod. This seemed to satisfy Johnny, and he turned back to follow Ten to the road. Jaehyun didn’t lower his gun until they heard the Agents’ car start and drive away.

“Jesus, Jaehyun!” Jungwoo finally spoke after letting out a big breath from his mouth.

“What?” He lowered his arm but kept the gun in his hand.

“That was…” he didn’t finish his sentence.

“You could’ve gotten us both killed, you know that?” Jungwoo jumped in surprise as Jaehyun yelled at him. In the day he’d known Jaehyun, he’d never seen him this aggressive.

“I think they were telling the truth,” he said meekly.

“Yeah, well, think on your own time, when we’re not in danger.” Jaehyun felt a pang of guilt as he saw Jungwoo’s eyes lower in shame. “You shouldn’t trust that easily,” he added, voice softer than before.

“Whatever.” Jungwoo turned around, putting back to Jaehyun as he sniffled. “Either way, I think we should stay here tonight.” Jaehyun nodded at this. Even if he didn’t trust the two Agents that just left, ignoring Johnny’s warning wasn’t a risk he was willing to take.  

 

\----

 

They walked deeper into the woods before they decided to stop for the night.

“I don’t think we should make a fire. The smoke might give us away.” Jungwoo just nodded at Jaehyun’s statement, and Jaehyun again felt guilty for yelling at him earlier. The two hadn’t spoken much since the incident. Jungwoo plopped down on the dirt, still not saying anything. Jaehyun sighed and went to a tree near where Jungwoo was sitting. He put his back against the bark and slowly slid down until he was sitting, his knees hiked up, so he could rest his face on them. He stared into the now dark forest until he heard Jungwoo rustle through his bag and finally speak.

“Here.” He reached out to offer something to Jaehyun. “I know it’s not much, but this is all I have.” Jaehyun grabbed the object from Jungwoo and realized it was a granola bar. Jungwoo gave him a half-hearted smile and reached his own granola bar out in a cheer. “Bon appetit.” Jaehyun shot him a smile, grateful for his generosity and lifted his bar. He clinked it against Jungwoo’s and then they ate.

“Thank you,” he said. Jungwoo smiled at him again, this time it looked more genuine.

“You’re welcome. I know I didn’t sound grateful earlier, but I am really thankful that you took things into your own hands today with the Agent stuff.” He was still nibbling on his granola bar. Jaehyun crumpled his own wrapper and stuffed it into his pocket.

“I’m sorry if I scared you.” Jaehyun’s deep, even voice blended with the harsh wind of the night. Jungwoo took a breath.

“I have to admit, it was…off-putting to see you like that.” Jaehyun winced, and Jungwoo hurried to finish his thought. “But, I’m glad you were there. I kinda just froze, I’m sorry.” At this, Jaehyun turned to face Jungwoo.

“You should never be sorry for acting like a normal human.” His stared intensely at Jungwoo, and then looked away, lost in his own thoughts. Jungwoo scooched closer to Jaehyun and leaned his back against the same tree trunk Jaehyun was resting against.

“You say that like you aren’t a normal human.” Jungwoo meant it as a joke, but it didn’t seem to come across that way.

“I don’t even know what normal is anymore, Jungwoo. I almost shot those guys, even after they lowered their weapons. Even though there was a part of me that wanted to believe what they were saying.” Jaehyun lowered his head, in shame or guilt, or just exhaustion. Jungwoo reached his hand to lay it on top of Jaehyun’s. When he felt Jungwoo’s touch, he looked up at him.

“But you didn’t.”

“You’re right. I didn’t. But if you hadn’t been there…” Jaehyun squeezed his eyes closed, afraid to finish his own sentence.

“You would’ve done the right thing.” Jungwoo’s quiet voice sounded loud in the empty forest. Jaehyun slowly opened his eyes. “I know you would’ve.” Jaehyun knew in his heart that Jungwoo was wrong, but he didn’t say anything. Instead, he just squeezed Jungwoo’s hand and closed his eyes again, letting the sound of their breathing calm him down. After a few peaceful moments, he felt Jungwoo shiver beside him.

“Are you cold?” Jungwoo shivered again.

“Yeah, it gets a little chilly at night doesn’t it?” Jaehyun leaned forward and proceeded to take off his jacket, handing it to Jungwoo. Jungwoo was about to protest, but Jaehyun beat him to it.

“Take it, please. I don’t get cold easily.” He remembered how cold the floor in the Cells was. It took a while to get used to, but in some sick way, he grew to enjoy it. The cold was almost soothing for his cuts and bruises. The twisted thing was that the cold brought him, Taeyong, and Mark closer. They had each other for warmth, and that was enough.

Jungwoo accepted the jacket with a thank you and put it on, his shivers calming. The small amount of moonlight that peaked through the trees illuminated a harrowing sight. Jaehyun looked at Jungwoo in his old Agent jacket and shivered. The thought of Jungwoo in the Cells… it seemed wrong. Jaehyun couldn’t imagine it and felt the urge to rip the jacket away from Jungwoo, just so he wouldn’t have to think about it. He wondered if he would’ve met Taeyong and Mark anywhere else, if it would have seemed this wrong on them, too. He was brought out of his thoughts by the sound of Jungwoo rifling through his bag.

“I have just the thing that will help us stay warm. Aha!” he said as he pulled something out. He gave Jaehyun an uncharacteristically mischievous smirk as he brandished the flask. “I never go anywhere without it. You never know when you’re gonna need to loosen up a bit. Besides, I think a good buzz could do you good.” He snickered and then took a sip. “Mmm, I feel warmer already.” He handed the flask to Jaehyun, who looked at Jungwoo in shock for a second before taking a sip himself.

“Woah!” He smiled over at Jungwoo, teasingly. “Never would’ve taken you for a whiskey kind of guy.” He chuckled and took another sip, savoring as the liquid trailed a flame all the way down his throat. Jungwoo smirked over at him and grabbed the flask.

“I’m full of surprises.” This made Jaehyun smile.

“I bet you would’ve been a lot of fun in the normal world,” Jaehyun said as he took another sip.

“What, I’m not fun now?” Jungwoo looked up at him with wide eyes and a pout that Jaehyun realized was dangerous when combined with the alcohol that now swam through his body. He gave Jungwoo’s shoulder a light shove.

“Eh, I guess you’re alright,” Jaehyun said, teasing him again.

“The normal world…” Jungwoo trailed off, slightly slurred speech finally showing evidence of the whiskey’s effect. He rested his head against Jaehyun’s shoulder.

“Seems like a dream doesn’t it?” Jaehyun noticed that their breath fogged in the cold air. It reminded him of cigarette smoke. He thought back to the days when he and his buddies would go bar hopping. The days when his biggest problems were student debt and not knowing what he was going to do with his life.

“Or maybe this is just a nightmare,” Jungwoo said, mumbling into Jaehyun’s shoulder. Jaehyun looked down at him and saw that his eyes were drooping closed.

“One hell of a nightmare, huh?” Pretty soon, Jaehyun felt his own eyes threatening to close as he watched Jungwoo fade. As he drifted off, he thought about his nightmares. He thought about the Cells, about the feel of Taeyong’s blood on his hands when they had to fight each other. He thought about Mark’s cries. He thought about the cold floor. Finally, he thought about what Jungwoo said. The next day, he would blame it on the whiskey, but the thought still crossed his mind. He fell asleep thinking that a nightmare with Jungwoo in it couldn’t be too bad after all.  

 

\----

 

The next morning, Jaehyun woke up and thanked the universe that he was still young and could shrug off a night of drinking like it was nothing. He was awoken by the sound of Jungwoo moving about on the forest floor. He stood up slowly and winced as he tried to rub the crick in his neck.

“Good morning!” Jungwoo beamed at him. “Ready to go?” Jaehyun nodded, and they made their way back to the van.

“I can drive,” said Jaehyun. Jungwoo nodded and tried not to think about how Jaehyun’s normally roaring voice was even deeper in the morning. They got in the van and Jungwoo showed Jaehyun how to hotwire it and use the screwdriver in the ignition to start the car. Then, they made their way, with Jungwoo occasionally chiming in directions. After about an hour, Jungwoo spoke again.

“Alright pull over somewhere around there.” He pointed to a parking area that sat next to a bent sign signaling the beginning of the camping grounds. After he parked, they got out to make the rest of their journey on foot. Jaehyun put the screwdriver in his pocket, just in case. Sadly, he knew that Jungwoo trusted him enough to keep it for now. As they began walking, Jaehyun felt his anxiety rise. He made sure to pay close attention to the route they were walking, in case he had to run. Gone was the peace of the isolated woods, the warmth of the whiskey. Instead, he now felt focused, ready for anything. He reached into his back pocket and made sure his gun was there. He looked over at Jungwoo and realized that this could easily be a trap.

“Right over there.” Jungwoo gestured to a big hunk of off-white metal. Jaehyun took a deep breath and readied himself. As they approached the RV, he made sure he was behind Jungwoo. “They might be a little cautious… so don’t be offended if they’re kinda aggressive at first.” That’s all the warning that Jungwoo gave Jaehyun before he turned and knocked on the metal door. He gave two fast knocks and then three slow ones. Jaehyun waited, arm creeping to his back pocket, where he kept his hand on his gun as they waited in silence, the ringing of the metal door the only noise. After a few tense moments, Jaehyun saw the door swing open and hit the inside of the RV with a bang. Jungwoo looked shocked for a second and then smiled at the guy who answered the door. The guy pulled Jungwoo into a hug, and then after a second realized that Jaehyun was there as well. He looked at Jaehyun with a scowl and Jaehyun clenched the gun behind him tighter.  The guy gestured to Jeahyun, eyes narrowed. 

“Who’s your friend?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so sorry for not updating sooner! Finals destroyed me and then Christmas happened but I'm back now and plan on updating regular(huh)-ly (sorry I think I'm hilarious). 
> 
> So, we have some new characters! And more to come next chapter. Also, I promise I didn't falsely tag this story as slow burn! That tag is more for dotae and markhyuck.... jaewoo, on the other hand....they are just some sweet boys so maybe it's gonna go a bit faster for them. 
> 
> Hope everyone is enjoying the holidays!
> 
> ~Till next time~
> 
> Curious Cat: curiouscat.me/indi__ghost


	4. One Step at a Time

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Meanwhile, back at the hangar....
> 
> Chapter Content Warnings: mentions of violence and language

It took approximately three minutes for everyone to realize that they just watched each group’s token diplomat drive away before things went to hell. Currently, the debate was over who was going to cook.

“Back off, man! I said I could do it.” Lucas was yelling at Doyoung, who was trying to grab the handle of the pan out of Lucas’ huge hand.

“Well you and I have different definitions of having the ability to do something, then,” Doyoung scoffed, “because I don’t know how many times you need to see that poor rice catch on fire before you realize that you should never be within ten feet of kitchen supplies.”

Jisung, who was watching the ordeal with Mark, Jaemin and Jeno, had to turn around to hide his snicker at Doyoung’s comment. Doyoung reached to grab the pan handle again.

“Seriously, man, stop it!” Lucas yelled back, yanking the handle away from Doyoung’s reach. At this point, the other three boys watching were also trying to hold back laughs at the comical fight.

“Seriously, man,” Doyoung said, mocking Lucas’ deep voice, “just let me do it.” He reached again. This time, Lucas yanked his hand away with more force, consequently tipping the pan over. Everyone watched as the charred contents of the pan dumped onto the floor with a sickening plop.

“Alright, what the hell is going on over here?” Taeyong asked, coming towards the scene. Upon Taeyong’s entrance, Jisung stopped laughing, while the others were still smiling.

“He just came up and tried to hijack my pan!” Lucas yelled back. Doyoung rolled his eyes.

“I was trying to salvage the disaster that is his cooking,” Doyoung replied.

“Oh, for the love of,” Taeyong sighed and put two fingers to his forehead, massaging it before continuing. “In case you guys haven’t noticed, we don’t just have food coming out of our ears over here. Let’s try not to waste the little we do have on pissing contests, okay?”

The mood sobered at the reminder of their situation. Taeyong sighed again and reached down to pick up the pan. He handed it to Doyoung, not looking him in the eye or saying anything.

“Thanks,” Doyoung said slowly, looking suspicious as he grabbed the pan from Taeyong’s outstretched hand.

“Are you kidding me?” said Lucas. “You’re gonna let him make it?” Doyoung looked over triumphantly at Lucas with a smirk.

“Lucas…you did set it on fire… twice,” Jaemin interjected, trying to keep a straight face. This comment made Jeno and Mark bust out laughing, while Jisung still didn’t react. Lucas frowned, but didn’t say anything.

“Just someone make the food, please,” Taeyong said, his tone still harsh enough to hide the smile that threatened to break through.

Jisung suddenly whipped around, muttered something under his breath, and then started walking away from the group.

“Hey,” Taeyong said, looking concerned, “is something wrong, Jisung?”

Jisung turned his head back towards Taeyong. When he did, everyone was surprised by his angry look.

“Yeah, something is wrong.” He walked a few steps towards Taeyong. “You are. You just suck the fun out of everything, don’t’ you?” Taeyong physically winced at both Jisung’s words and the acid in his tone. “God, Taeyong, seriously what is wrong with you?” Taeyong blinked twice, as if disoriented, and then reached forward to try to stop Jisung from walking away.

“Jisung-” Taeyong placed his hand on Jisung’s shoulder, only to have Jisung violently shake it off, fear in his eyes.

“Don’t touch me!” He screamed, tears of either fear or rage or both spilling over. His yell echoed through the now completely silent hangar. For a painful moment, no one moved. Then, Jisung turned around and made his way into the plane, leaving everyone still in shock. Taeyong just looked at his hand, now clenching nothing but air, in horror.

“I’m gonna, uh, go check on him,” Jaemin said quietly, and then slowly walked away in the direction Jisung went. Lucas, Mark, Jeno and Doyoung were left looking at a frozen Taeyong. Doyoung cleared his throat.

“Right, um, I’m gonna start this.” He gestured to the pan now in his hand. “Jeno, do you wanna get some water?” Jeno nodded, eyes still wide, and took the pan that Doyoung handed him. Doyoung kept stealing nervous glances at Taeyong, who still hadn’t moved. Lucas was standing with his hands in his pockets, looking awkward.

Jeno returned with the water, and Doyoung began working. Taeyong finally shook his head as if to wake himself up. He looked up, blinking faster than normal.

“Mark.” Doyoung almost spilled the new batch of rice at how small Taeyong’s voice sounded. Mark looked up at Taeyong. “Could you check on Donghyuck’s wound whenever you get a chance, maybe try to get him up and walking? We don’t want his muscles to atrophy.” Mark nodded silently, looking over to where Donghyuck had fallen asleep, upright leaning against the outside of the plane. “Okay, thanks.” Taeyong then turned around and headed to the front of the hangar. No one spoke until he opened the door, walked out, and shut it behind him.

 ♜ ♜ ♜

Mark approached the still sleeping Donghyuck. He noticed the awkward angle of his tan neck, a consequence of the way Donghyuck’s head was propped against the outside of the plane. For a moment, Mark just stood there, about a foot away from the sleeping boy, not knowing what to do. He cleared his throat a few times, desperately hoping that the meager sounds would be enough to wake Donghyuck. Mark was startled when he spoke, eyes still closed.

“How many Marks does it take to wake a Hyuck up?” he asked in a dry voice. Mark chuckled at this and walked to sit next to Donghyuck.

“Apparently more than one,” he answered. Donghyuck opened his eyes when Mark sat next to him, surprised that Mark was actually joking back. “Sorry, I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Oh yeah,” Donghyuck said, adjusting his position on the floor, “and why is that?” The second he moved hid leg, a searing pain crawled up his body and out his mouth with a choked gasp.

Mark winced, the noise reminding him of the noises that once freely escaped his own mouth.

“That’s why,” he said in a quiet voice.

“Yup,” Donghyuck said with a strained chuckle, “that would make sense.” He groaned a few more times.

“So, um, do you prefer people call you Hyuck?” Mark asked, trying to keep him distracted from the pain, remembering how Taeyong and Jaehyun would do the same thing for him.

“I prefer my friends to, yes.” Mark noticed the emphasis on the word friends.

“Oh, okay, gotcha.” He noticed that Donghyuck was obviously still in a lot of pain, even though he was trying to hide it. “So, you can have some more hydrocodone, but we have to wait until you get something in your stomach.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes at this.

“Ah, come on! At the rate things are going around here we’re never going to eat.” Mark gave him a questioning look. “You know, cuz someone thought it was a good idea to give Sasquatch a spot in the kitchen.” Mark frowned, and was about to reply, when they were both interrupted by Lucas.

“Hey, who are you callin’ Sasquatch?” he said as he approached, balancing three dishes of rice in his arms. Donghyuck raised his eyebrows in surprise.

“Sasquatch brought me food?” he asked. Lucas let out a loud laugh.

“Sasquatch didn’t bring you squat. This is for Mark,” Lucas said, leaning down so Mark could grab the dish balanced between the two other ones. “This is for me,” he said, raising the dish in his right hand, “and this,” he said with a smirk, raising the dish in his left hand, “is for Taeyong.” Donghyuck rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything. Mark looked down at the dish and tried to ignore the growl of his stomach.

“Thanks,” he said to Lucas, “but he should probably eat first, so he can take the pills.” Mark handed the dish over to Donghyuck. It was Lucas’ turn to roll his eyes.

“Oh yeah, I forgot, you’re actually a good person,” Lucas said with a smile.

“I’m sure that’s a foreign concept for you, Bigfoot,” Donghyuck said, taunt directed towards Lucas, who just gave Mark an exasperated look instead of responding. The sting in Donghyuck’s voice ebbed slightly when he turned and spoke to Mark. “Thanks, man, but I’m really not in the mood to eat anyways,” he said, extending the dish back towards Mark.

“Martyr,” Lucas mumbled under his breath, loud enough for both Donghyuck and Mark to hear. Donghyuck was about to respond, but the banter was interrupted by Jeno approaching.

“Come on, Hyuck, don’t be dumb,” Jeno said, approaching with a smile and a dish in each hand, offering one to Donghyuck when he reached the group and sat down on the other side of him. “Just a few bites.”

Mark was slightly irked when he saw Donghyuck grab the dish that Jeno offered him. He then had no choice but to grab the dish that he originally offered to Donghyuck from his outstretched hand.

“Okay, Mom, whatever you say,” Donghyuck replied in a dry voice. He looked down at the bowl in his hands, eyebrows turned down, and noticed the object sticking out of the rice piled onto the chipped ceramic. He picked it up. “What am I looking at?” He held the object up to the light. “Is this a popsicle stick?” he asked.

“The Yeti said that’s what they use,” Doyoung said, approaching the half-circle of people. Lucas scowled at Doyoung, who smiled back. “What?” he asked, smile growing bigger by the second, “I like the nickname. It’s-” he paused for a second, squinting his eyes and tilting his head as if to find the right word. Then he smirked, looked at Lucas and said, “fitting.” He sat down opposite of Donghyuck, who was currently laughing. Jeno joined in and even Mark’s lips turned up in a smile.

“Yeah, it’s all we have. Either that or your hands. Jaehyun usually makes the rice sticky, so it doesn’t really matter,” Lucas said, staring pointedly at Doyoung. Then, he looked down at the two dishes in hands. “We’ll have to make do with yours I guess.”

Doyoung blinked slowly, unphased by Lucas’ attempt at a roast. Instead of replying, he picked up his popsicle stick, scooped up some rice and raised it towards Lucas. He then said, “you’re welcome,” with a smile and began to eat.

“Whatever,” Lucas said, turning around to leave. He muttered a quick, “too many people in this damn hangar,” under his breath, earning a small chuckle from Mark. He then slinked off towards the entrance to the hangar, long arms still balancing the two plates of rice.

Donghyuck sighed and picked up his popsicle stick, giving it a wary look. “Well, here goes nothing. Bone apple teeth, everyone.”

“Thanks for the food, Do,” Jeno said, snickering at Donghyuck’s joke. Doyoung gave him a nod of acknowledgement and then the four guys ate in silence.

With the quiet, Mark thought about what Lucas said as he was leaving. It was odd seeing so many new faces in the hangar that was the closest thing he’d had to a real home in a while. Mark thought about how everything seemed to have changed in a matter of one day. It was unsettling.

Life in the Cells was horrible. For Mark, it was like each day was a breath almost too hard to take. He would go to sleep with a boulder resting on his chest, making each breath an almost miraculous act. Before the nightmares leaked from reality into his dreams, Mark would have maybe an hour of nothing. No pain, no feelings, just peace. Then, just like clockwork, the pressure would be back, and he would have to fight for each breath again.

To Mark, horrible wasn’t a good enough word to describe the Cells. He could think up a lot of ways to describe them, but unpredictable was not among the list. He had found comfort in the routine of the Cells. Things, as awful as they may have been, were expected, so it was hard to be taken off guard. Then, when they escaped, he had to make a new routine. It had taken him a while, but once they met Jisung and Jaemin and established a new normal, things were finally becoming predictable again. Later, when they rescued Lucas, it only took Mark about a day to accept the addition to the routine. Now, here in the hangar, the new routine he had established was interrupted. His mind was frantically trying to put the fragmented pieces of that routine back together.

Mark looked at the people he was eating with. He was surrounded by strangers. There was no Jaemin or Lucas to lighten the mood. There was Jisung there to bring light into the hangar with his boyish innocence. Lastly, there was no Jaehyun or Taeyong, the two people that grounded him in his new reality. The two people that understood how hard it was to breathe sometimes. Mark’s recession into his thoughts was interrupted by the clink of a bowl against the ground next to him.

“There,” Donghyuck said, gesturing to his now empty plate, “I finished. Can I have my pills now?”

“I’m so proud of you, honey,” Jeno replied in a voice mocking a mom. Donghyuck laughed and then looked expectedly at Mark.

“Oh, yeah, sure. One second,” Mark said and then left to go get them, still recovering from the abrupt conclusion of his thoughts. Once he returned with the pills Mark gave them to Donghyuck and watched him sigh in relief as he swallowed them.

“Thanks,” Donghyuck said, still out of breath from how fast he gulped down his water.

“Yeah, no problem,” Mark said. “Now, this might be tough, but Taeyong said we need to try to get you up and walking. Today, ideally.”

“He said what, exactly?” Doyoung asked, voice amplified by skepticism

“Well, we have to see how bad the damage is.” Mark’s reply didn’t seem to change Doyoung’s doubt in the slightest.

“He can barely change sitting positions, I’d say the damage is pretty bad,” Doyoung spat back.

“Yeah, I’m not too sure this is a good idea,” Jeno added in with a little less intensity.

“Ugh, I don’t need two moms, guys.” Donghyuck finally joined the conversation. “It’ll be fine.” He turned to Mark and asked hesitantly, “Just a few steps, right? I don’t have to go run a marathon or anything?” This made Mark smile as he shook his head.

“Nope. No marathons, I promise,” Mark said.

Donghyuck did not want to stand up. He didn’t want to move even an inch because he knew what it would feel like when did. He looked over at Jeno’s openly worried face, and then at Doyoung’s face, less obvious but equally worried. He didn’t want them to worry about them. He was supposed to be the one that was always okay. Mark saw Donghyuck observing Doyoung and Jeno.

“Hey, do you think you guys could maybe go see if Jisung and Jaemin are okay? I haven’t seen them come out for food yet and I’m sure they’re hungry,” Mark said to Doyoung and Jeno. After they didn’t answer, Mark spoke again. “I’d really appreciate it.”

Doyoung seemed to catch on to what Mark was trying to do. He nodded, giving Mark an uncertain look before heading to the plane. Jeno didn’t seem to be on the same page.

“Doyoung can do it. I don’t want you to do this alone, Hyuck,” he said. Donghyuck sighed and gave Jeno a tired smile.

“I’ll be fine. And I won’t be alone,” Donghyuck said and then looked at Mark for a second. “My nurse is here, remember?” This made Jeno laugh and Mark roll his eyes. Jeno hesitated for a moment after he was done laughing and then nodded his head.

“Okay,” Jeno said, “you’re right. I’m probably overreacting. Just holler if you need, okay. And don’t let your nurse break your other leg on accident or anything like that.”

Mark gave an exasperated sigh and looked up as if to ask the powers above “why me?” This made both Donghyuck and Jeno break out into laughter.

“Can’t make any promises,” Mark said to Jeno, deciding to let himself into the joke. Donghyuck once more looked shocked at Mark’s ability to joke, while Jeno just turned and gave Mark an almost blinding smile. He gave Mark a pat on the shoulder and then walked off after Doyoung, shoulders still trembling in leftover laughter.

The second that Jeno turned away, Mark saw Donghyuck’s smile morph into a tight line. Donghyuck let his shoulders slump and his strained breathing become more apparent. Mark gave him a curious look.

“No need to worry them, ya know? Besides, the pills will kick in soon,” Donghyuck said in reply. Even his voice sounded different, deeper and more labored, now that it was just him and Mark.

“Yeah, I guess that logic makes sense,” Mark said, voice laced with doubt and concern. He took a deep breath. “So, we’re just gonna try and get you on your feet first and see how that goes, okay?”

Donghyuck nodded his head once, giving Mark the que that it was okay. Mark positioned himself in front of Donghyuck’s sagging form and reached his arms out, waiting for Donghyuck to grab his hand. Donghyuck raised an eyebrow.

“It’s either this or you try to get up on your own. For some reason, I don’t see the second option working out too well,” Mark said, sounding slightly annoyed.

“Fine.” That was all Donghyuck seemed to have the energy to say before he reached up to take Mark’s hands.

“Okay,” Mark said before he started to pull Donghyuck upright, “there you go, let’s just take it slow, alright?” Mark pulled him up at an agonizingly slow rate, making his pale muscles underneath his T-shirt tense and shake. Donghyuck nodded and gasped as he began to put some pressure on his leg. He put his lips together tightly and tried not to let any sounds escape.

By the time he was all the way up on two feet, Donghyuck was shivering and beads of sweat traced down the side of his face. He had his eyes squeezed shut.

“Look,” Mark said, trying to sound optimistic, “you’re standing up.” At this, Donghyuck slowly peeled his eyes open and tried to control his breathing.

“Yeah,” he breathed out, “I guess that’s something, huh?” He hands were still clenched around Mark’s, holding onto him for dear life. Mark nodded enthusiastically.

“It definitely is. Do you need a minute before you try to walk?” Mark asked.

“I think I need probably three hours before I want to try and walk but a minute or two will have to suffice,” Donghyuck replied. Mark chuckled at his ability to be sarcastic given the amount of pain he was in. “God, if Jeno could see me right now, I’d never hear the end of it.”

“Jeno, huh? You guys seem really close,” Mark said, hoping he could get Donghyuck’s mind off the pain if not just for a moment. Mark’s voice trailed off at the end of his sentence.

“Yeah,” Donghyuck said with a breathy laugh, “we’re best friends. I’ve known him since I was a kid. Believe it or not, we’re the same age. I know that information is shocking given that he acts like a goddamned old woman sometimes.” This made Mark laugh, and he noticed that Donghyuck was barely shaking anymore. His grip on Mark’s hands was loosening as he was talking. Mark continued.

“Since you were kids? Does that mean you knew him before the-” Mark ended his question abruptly, not wanting to say the word war. He didn’t want his mind to conjure images of bright flashes in the sky and cities consumed by smoke. “You know.”

“Mhm, since way before this all went to shit,” Donghyuck replied. He had gotten his breathing back in control. “Okay, I think I’m ready to try and walk now. Should I start with my good leg?”

Mark nodded and slowly released Donghyuck’s hands, watching his face carefully for any signs that he was about to pass out or throw up. Donghyuck let out a stream of air through his lips and then extended his right food and cautiously put his body weight onto it. The corner of his lip turned up when he didn’t feel the pain.

“Okay, that wasn’t so bad. Now for the tricky one,” he said, mainly talking to himself.

Mark just waited close in front of him, watching with a patience that came naturally to him. Donghyuck took another deep breath and started to extend his left foot in front of the newly placed right one. He winced when extended the leg, but his pained face was concealed with a look of fierce determination. Mark thought to himself that that conviction must’ve come naturally to him.

Donghyuck was now balanced on one foot, with his leg fully extended in front of him, left foot hovering centimeters above the ground.

“Alright, it hurts, but it’s manageable. Maybe I’ll be running marathons sooner than we expected.” This earned him a grin from Mark. “Here we go.” Donghyuck was again talking to himself, but Mark nodded anyways. With the same speed one would rip a band aid off, Donghyuck stepped onto his left foot. The second it touched the ground and his weight started to shift onto the injured leg, he let out a pained choke and felt his leg give out. Luckily, instead of falling backwards onto the floor, his body tipped forward and Mark was able to catch him.

Donghyuck’s hands were on Mark’s shoulders in an almost painful grip, and his head was drooped down and resting on his chest. His deep, distressed gasps ruffled the fabric of Mark’s shirt with every breath. Mark had unthinkingly reached out to steady the falling Donghyuck by grabbing his waist, and he stayed frozen like that while Donghyuck wheezed. He heard a sniffle and saw that Donghyuck’s slouched shoulders were shaking ever so slightly.

“Are you okay?” Mark asked, knowing the answer was no but not having anything else to say. He heard Donghyuck sniffle one more time.

“Yeah,” he answered, “I’m fine. Thanks for catching me. It would suck if I would’ve cracked my head open. I don’t want you and the psycho anywhere near my brain.” Mark felt hurt at the comment until he realized that it was a joke. “I can feel you rolling your eyes, by the way.” Mark’s lips turned up when Donghyuck said this. “You can let go of me now.”

Mark blinked and quickly took his hands off Donghyuck’s waist, muttering an awkward “sorry.” After Mark did this, Donghyuck’s hands released Mark’s shoulders from his clutches and stood up by himself. Donghyuck’s face was once again trying to warp into a look of determination, but the fire in his eyes wasn’t very convincing, extinguished from the remnants of dried tears. Once he was standing with nothing to hold onto, he wobbled every so often in a manner that made Mark nervous.

“I think we’re good for today. We got you standing, that’s something.” When Mark said this, he saw the determined look fade from Donghyuck’s face. Donghyuck nodded.

“Yeah, okay, if you insist, Nurse.”

Mark sighed in fake annoyance, letting Donghyuck blame him for ending the walking mission for the day. He helped Donghyuck lower himself to the ground. Once Donghyuck was sitting, he once again leaned his head against the plane behind him and stared at the ceiling with heavily lidded eyes. His breathing was shallow.

“I think those pills are finally kicking in,” he murmured. “We can work on the marathon training tomorrow.”

Mark chuckled and nodded. “Sounds like a plan. Would it be okay if I looked at your wound? Taeyong said to check for-” When Mark looked down at Donghyuck, the rest of his sentence was forgotten when he saw the red-haired boy was already fast asleep.

♜ ♜ ♜

Behind the hangar, there was a stretch of grass that somehow managed to escape the rubble that peppered the ground around it. It wasn’t completely unblemished, though. The once green blades that shot out of the healthy ground weren’t sharp anymore. They were wilted, dulled to a shade of brown that reminded Taeyong of death. The ground looked like a poorly shaved head, with only patches of the damaged hair popping up in random places. Still, it was the closest thing around their “home” that resembled nature. To Taeyong, it was a breath of air that was refreshing enough amidst the concrete bones that surrounded him.

He was sitting on the ground, using a rock to carve a straight line into the ashy dirt. He drew the rock back and forth over that one line, pressing down harder with the rock on each stroke. He heard Jisung’s voice, small and scared.

_God, Taeyong, seriously what is wrong with you?_

He pressed down harder.

_Don’t touch me!_

He was pressing down so hard that his knuckle, pale from pressure, was starting to graze the dirt. He thought of how afraid Jisung looked. Then he heard another voice.

_Use your opponent’s fear to your advantage._

“Agh!” Taeyong screamed and threw the rock. He watched as the rock curved in the air and then landed a few feet away from him with a thud.

“Woahhh, man, what did the rock ever do to you?”

Taeyong jerked his head behind him to see Lucas approaching with two dishes in his hand.  Taeyong gave him a questioning look.

“I thought you might be hungry,” Lucas replied. He handed Taeyong a plate of rice and then plopped down next to him.

“Thank you,” Taeyong said in a quiet voice. He momentarily forgot the mental hurricane that had been brewing in his head. He was surprised that Lucas, of all people, had come out to see him.

“Mind if I join you?” Lucas asked, already digging into his food.

“Not at all,” Taeyong replied, a hint of a smile brewing on his face.

“Cool. I’ll look out for the meteor shower,” Lucas said back, laughing at his own joke. The smile on Taeyong’s face continued to bud. They sat in a comfortable silence until Lucas broke it. When Lucas spoke, Taeyong looked over and tried not to be surprised that Lucas had eaten his entire plate of food in a matter of a minute.

“Look, about that whole thing earlier, don’t beat yourself up about it.” Lucas was running his hand through his floppy hair nervously. When Taeyong didn’t respond, Lucas decided to continue. “I mean, it’s not your fault, what happened at the pharmacy. You were just trying to protect Jisung in your own way.”

“There are better ways to protect people.” Taeyong was staring at the sun, high in the sky, eyes looking polished in the bright rays. His plate of half-eaten rice was forgotten. “Not putting him in danger, that would be a good start.” Lucas sighed.

“Well, that’s the world we live in. It’s fucked up, but that’s just how it is, ya know?” Taeyong still didn’t reply, so Lucas kept talking. “I guess what I’m trying to say is, you’re not a bad person. You, Jaehyun, Mark, the rest of us, we’re all victims of the same world.” This enticed a soft chuckled to escape Taeyong’s tense lips.

“Damn, that’s pretty deep,” he said, turning his gaze down to the ground. Wisps of his red hair dangled over his forehead. Taeyong’s comment, in turn, elicited a classic Lucas laugh, with the sound hiking up at the end.  

“Yeah, well, I can be pretty wise sometimes.” His paused and then his big grin faded just slightly after a moment. “It’s not just you, ya know? I think if Jisung would’ve been there when Jaehyun and Mark helped rescue me from the Scavengers…. He probably would be scared of them, too. Hell, _I_ was scared of them. And even Jaemin looked a little shaken right after. You guys are like freaking beasts when you wanna be.” Taeyong grimaced at this. “And when you don’t wanna be, I guess.” Lucas paused once more. 

“It took me like a day, but then I realized that you guys saved me. He’ll come around, I promise,” Lucas said. Taeyong looked up at this.

“They saved you,” he said, looking back down to the ground after speaking.

“No,” Lucas said, sounding more serious than Taeyong had ever heard him sound, “you all saved me. Sure, they were the ones that physically fought off the Scavengers, but you and Jaemin and Jisung… all of you… you guys took me in, gave a place to stay…. You guys are good, Taeyong.”

When Taeyong looked up again, this time his eyes were shimmering with more than just sunlight. They were barely wet with a dew that would’ve graced the patches of grass around them in the old world.

“Thank you, Lucas,” he whispered. Lucas looked back, goofy grin back on his face. He gave Taeyong a pat on his shoulder.

“Sure thing, man,” he replied. “Now, please tell me that you’re gonna be cooking dinner cuz this rice is bland as hell.” He laughed. Taeyong looked down at his forgotten plate.

“It’s not that bad. I mean, we are kinda limited in food options,” said Taeyong. Lucas shook his head.

“Nope.” He said, popping his mouth on the end of the word. “You’ve got us spoiled. I don’t know how you do it, but you always make the food taste good. Doyoung, on the other hand, he’s just a piece of work.”

“You got that right,” Taeyong said, chuckling along with Lucas.

“You know he’s right.” Both Taeyong and Lucas turned around to see a red-eyed Jisung standing behind them, hands in his pockets. “About the food. No one can make it like you do, Taeyong,” he continued, walking around slowly to stand on the other side of Taeyong.

“Jisung-” Taeyong started, wide-eyed and timid, looking about the same age as Jisung.

“No, let me go first, please,” Jisung said, sitting down.

“Hey, I’m gonna go take these plates in,” said Lucas, trying to sound casual as he stood up and collected his and Taeyong’s plates. Jisung didn’t continue until after Lucas started walking away.

“I’m sorry about earlier,” Jisung said. Taeyong took in a big breath.

“No, no, no, you have absolutely nothing to be sorry for. Please, I’m sorry,” he said, voice frantic. Jisung shot Taeyong a shy smile.

“I shouldn’t have taken it out on you,” Jisung said. Taeyong was about to interrupt and beg Jisung to not apologize, but Jisung kept talking before he could. “I was just so scared.” His voice broke when he said the word scared, and Taeyong was convinced his heart broke along with it. Jisung was now fighting tears that refused to stay in his eyes. Taeyong reached his hand up slowly to comfort Jisung and then stopped midway. “I felt completely helpless. I thought they were gonna kill me, or you, or Lucas.” Jisung was now full on sobbing.

Taeyong decided to take his chances and went to hug Jisung, who collapsed into Taeyong’s arms the second he opened them. Taeyong rubbed circles into Jisung’s back, letting him cry. He remembered doing this with a patient’s mother while her son was in surgery during his third year rotations. After a minute, Jisung sniffled and then began talking again.

“And then they let me go and then I thought you were gonna get hurt and then you shot Donghyuck and it all just happened so fast. I was scared… of everything.” His voice got quieter. “Even you.” He paused for a moment, sniffling again. “And I hated it. I hate being scared. Taeyong, how are you so brave?” This question seemed to knock the breath out of Taeyong. He let go of Jisung so he could look at his face while he was talking.

“Brave? Oh, I’m not brave,” Taeyong said with a breathy chuckle, “I mean, seeing you there, in danger, I was terrified, Jisung.” Jisung looked up at him wide, bleary eyes. Taeyong shifted to face Jisung and cross his legs. “I’ve been scared ever since two men grabbed me and took me away in a van. Sometimes I’m so scared, I don’t even know how to breathe.”

Jisung scrunched his eyebrows. “But you’re always so,” he paused to find the right word, “tough,” he said, confused.

Taeyong sighed again and gave Jisung a reassuring smile. “I’ve been trained to hide my fear, Jisung. Sometimes it’s not a good thing. I know you hate being scared, but that’s what makes us human.”

“I just can’t stand it when I hold you guys back!” Jisung said, clenching his fists. Taeyong’s eyes widened again.

“Hold us back?” Taeyong let out a stream of air before continuing. “You give us more than you could ever know, Jisung. You will never, never, be a burden to any one of us.”

Jisung sniffled again. “You really think so?”

“I know so.” Taeyong’s reply was followed by a gentle smile. Jisung nodded and wiped his cheeks in an attempt to dry them of the tears that had been freely flowing previously.

“Okay, but can ask you something?” Jisung asked.

“Anything,” Taeyong said, eager to help Jisung.

“Do you think you could… teach me how to fight, or at least some self-defense moves?”

Taeyong’s face was unreadable, and Jisung rushed to take the question back.

“Never mind, it’s a dumb idea,” he mumbled. Finally, Taeyong’s face broke out into a grin.

“No, it’s not dumb at all. I’m just thinking of how fierce you already are.” Jisung beamed at this. “And once you get some moves down?” Taeyong shook his head, laughing. “Well, let’s just say anyone who tries to get in your way won’t know what’s coming.”

 ♜ ♜ ♜

Taeyong did end up making dinner, and this time, it was Jisung’s favorite noodles. Everyone ate together around a fire that Mark offered to make. Mark thought it was weird to be the one manning the fire, as Jaehyun usually did it. The first few minutes of the meal were awkward, everyone was hypersensitive to the two holes in the larger group. The awkwardness faded gradually, and the atmosphere was thankfully lacking the tension that had been present earlier.

“Hey, do you guys know a game called Mafia?” Jisung asked in characteristically quiet voice.

Doyoung looked over to where he was sitting on Taeyong’s lap. It was a weird site, the two didn’t mix in his mind. It was seeing a plush animal resting precariously on top of a bomb. Doyoung was even more surprised at the grin that spread across Taeyong’s face at Jisung’s questions. The sheer shock of the sight almost took his breath away. Bombs were definitely not supposed to smile. Doyoung couldn’t look away. At this moment, he couldn’t fathom how the person he was looking at now was the same one that shot Hyuck…

At that thought, Doyoung snapped out of his dazed state. Taeyong shot Hyuck. Doyoung was angry at himself for forgetting this fact. He could practically feel the red-hot rage start to churn in his chest again. He looked over to where Donghyuck was sitting, still in the same spot he’d been all day. He looked better today, less pale and he seemed to be talking more. A little of his distinctive fervor seemed to have seeped back into him, if only just barely.

“… and then basically you keep going until you guess who the mafia are and kill them.”

Doyoung was roused out of his thoughts by Jaemin’s voice, who seemed to be explaining the game for Jisung.

“Damn, Jungwoo would be so good at this game,” Donghyuck said, laughing.

“Oh, dang, he really would be. He looks all sweet and innocent, but man that boy is tricky when he wants to be,” Jeno said, shaking his head and joining Donghyuck in his laughter.

At the mention of Jungwoo, Doyoung’s mood soured even more. Jungwoo, probably the closest thing he’d ever had to a brother, was out in the woods with an ex-Agent. The dangers were limitless. Doyoung thought back to when he first met Jungwoo.

Doyoung was at college, far away from home, from when the bombing started near his campus. It was the last day of final exams, and he was planning on flying home the next day. When things started looking bad in the months leading up to the moment everything went dark, he had called his sister, and they made a plan. The plan was simple. After he was done with exams (looking back, he realized it was stupid to think that things would eventually go back to normal and a college degree would hold any value in the new world), they were going to meet up and make their way to Yeongjongdo Island. It was rumored that there was a safe haven there for people whose homes were destroyed by the war.

The day the fatal ashes spread to his campus, they had a mandatory lockdown, like having all the students in the same place would’ve helped anything. Before he went down into the campus underground for shelter, he called her sister. He knew he wouldn’t make it back to her in time. He told her to go on without him. She resisted the idea at first, but he pleaded for her to just go. She eventually agreed, and they managed to say goodbye before all the phones stopped working.

Down in the underground, the students were packed in like animals in a pen. The smell of panic permeated through the air. Throughout all the chaos, there was one person sitting calmly in the corner. Jungwoo had looked like a puppy sleeping in a city alley, immune to the bustle of busy streets. Doyoung decided to sit next to him, just so he could have some quiet. He recognized him from a few of his classes, and he looked nice enough. The two started talking, and Doyoung quickly found himself jealous of Jungwoo’s positive outlook on just about anything.

It was hard to tell time after that. After what could have been hours or days of waiting for their surroundings to implode, they heard people coming down, telling them it was okay to come out now. Doyoung and Jungwoo were in the very back, near the other exit, when they saw the first Agents come through. Relief turned to fear when they realized that they weren’t being saved. The Agents started to round up the students, and Doyoung and Jungwoo made a mutual decision that they wouldn’t let themselves get taken. The two somehow escaped amidst the pandemonium and decided to stick together after that. They wanted to find Yeongjongdo Island, as it was now the only glimmer of hope in a dark world. Doyoung knew his sister well, she was the strongest person he knew, and he knew she must’ve found her way. He didn’t let himself think of the alternative.

Doyoung stood up abruptly, disrupting whatever conversation was happening. He looked around and found six pairs of surprised eyes.

“I’m tired, I think I’m gonna turn in. Have fun with your game,” he said distractedly. He didn’t wait for a reply from anyone and turned around to head to the plane. It would be quiet in there, at least until everyone else went to bed. He hoped that the thunderous silence of being alone for a while would drown out his mind.

As Doyoung walked away, Taeyong’s eyes followed him curiously. He found himself, for the first time since he’d met Doyoung, wondering what was going on in his head.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, this chapter is kinda focussed on character development, but there will be some action soon!! 
> 
> ~Until Next Time~
> 
> I love talking to people!!  
> https://curiouscat.me/indi__ghost


	5. Don't Stand So Close to Me

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jaehyun makes some new friends, Lucas gets schooled, and the ride gets bumpier. 
> 
>  
> 
> Chapter Content Warnings: mentions of violence, guns, and language.

Jaehyun didn’t know what he was expecting when Jungwoo opened the door to the trailer, but it definitely wasn’t this. The guy who opened the door seemed completely normal. The combination of his height, gentle smile, and finally the apron resting on his body combined to almost shock Jaehyun out of defense mode. He tried not to look at the pastel stripes that decorated the apron wrapped around the guy’s waist. He wanted to be as vigilant as possible. Looks were deceiving in the world before the war, but after, they almost never told the truth.

“This is my friend, Jaehyun,” Jungwoo said as he grabbed Jaehyun’s forearm and dragged him to the trailer entrance. Jaehyun’s muscles tensed when Jungwoo’s delicate hands wrapped around his arm, but he forced them to relax. He belatedly realized, with surprise, that Jungwoo had called him his friend. He caught himself wondering how someone as trusting as Jungwoo survived this long in the new world. From what he’d seen, trust was basically a death sentence. He told himself internally to remember that fact.

“Huh,” the guy wearing the apron laughed, “leave it to Jungwoo to bring in a stray.” Jaehyun was about to take that as an insult, but he looked at the guy’s face, and the only thing he could see was kindness, so he decided that he didn’t mean it maliciously.

“I’m Taeil,” the guy said, reaching his hand out to shake Jaehyun’s. Jaehyun shook his hand, once again shocked at the formality of the gesture as he had been when Jungwoo shook his hand when they first met. Jaehyun again found his guard slipping down, with both Jungwoo and now Taeil in the room. Once they had shaken hands, Taeil went back into the trailer, and Jungwoo pulled Jaehyun inside after him.  

The moment that Jungwoo had Jaehyun fully in the trailer, the door shut behind them. The loud noise of metal clashing caused Jaehyun to instinctively rip himself from Jungwoo’s grip and back up into the now closed door, causing everyone in the room to look at him with wide eyes. The main face Jaehyun noticed was Jungwoo’s. He was looking at Jaehyun with surprise, and something underneath that Jaehyun assumed was fear.  

Jaehyun felt guilt immediately settle to the bottom of his stomach. He’d seen Jungwoo scared in the woods, during the standoff with the Agents, but this time, it was him that Jungwoo feared. He shot Jungwoo a smile, which Jungwoo returned, causing some of the pebbling guilt to dissolve.

Jaehyun widened the focus of his vision to the rest of the room he was standing in. The first thing he noticed is that it was small. He couldn’t imagine being cramped in here by himself, let alone his whole group. The size actually reminded him of the Cells, of the “bedroom” he shared with Mark and Taeyong. The second thing he noticed, perhaps contributing to the cramped vibe of the trailer, was that it was messy. There were empty cans and random pieces of clothes littering the floor.

Jaehyun thought to himself that this place was the exact opposite of the Cells. Though it was cramped in the trailer, he didn’t mind it. There was a warmth to this place. Everything in there was in disorder, something that made the room feel very alive. In the Cells, on the other hand, it was cold and spotless, almost clinically devoid of life. Every inch of the place was grey and dark, contributing to a monochrome that was smothering.  

Jaehyun realized that he was spacing out of whatever conversation was taking place, and that’s when he noticed the third person in the room. He was sprawled on the couch, thin limbs draped over the crumbling fabric. He looked comfortable, something Jaehyun hadn’t seen in a long time. His hair was a light purple, which also stood out to Jaehyun. The most noticeable thing about the guy was his eyes. They were piercing, and Jaehyun noticed that they were looking right at him. He realized the guy was waiting for the answer to a question he hadn’t heard.

“Um, I’m sorry, what?” Jaehyun asked. This caused the guy to chuckle.

“Man, he must’ve been a horrible Agent. So, you really were in the Cells?” The guy spoke in a casual tone, which was off-putting to Jaehyun considering his intense gaze.

“Come on, Yuta, be nice,” Taeil, who was now washing dishes, said to the guy on the couch, who Jaehyun now knew was Yuta.

“Ah, relax, he’s fine,” Yuta said with a smirk to Taeil and then continued. “So, were you?” The gaze was now fixed fully on Jaehyun again.

“Yeah, I was,” Jaehyun replied apprehensively. Yuta jumped into a sitting position and clapped his hands once in what looked to be a cheer.

“That’s pretty badass,” he said. Jaehyun let out an exasperated breath.

“Yeah,” Jaehyun said with a near-humorless tone, “that’s one way to put it.” Yuta was about to respond when Jungwoo interrupted him.

“Alright, so yeah, that’s Yuta,” he said gesturing to Yuta on the couch, who had already reverted back to laying down. He threw a lazy peace sign in Jaehyun direction when Jungwoo said his name. “And you’ve already met Taeil,” Jungwoo continued. Jaehyun looked over to the sink, where Taeil was hunched over, using a bucket of water to wash the dishes.

“So, Woo,” Taeil said in a casual tone, looking over his shoulder to where Jungwoo was standing, “where are the others?”

 At the question, Jaehyun started to get anxious again. He spared a quick look at Jungwoo, who was already looking at him, a subtle panic in his eyes. They both knew that this could quickly turn sour once Yuta and Taeil found out about Donghyuck’s condition. Jungwoo had assured Jaehyun in the car that Taeil and Yuta weren’t violent people, but Jaehyun knew that everyone had a potential to be dangerous.

Jungwoo gulped in a breath of nervous air and then spoke slowly. “So…they’re not here. I’m gonna need you both to not freak out.”

Yuta sat up from his position on the couch, looking less relaxed than he was just moments before, and Taeil stopped his actions in the sink and fully turned around.

“Where are they?” he asked, voice sounding a little sharper than before.

“Why don’t we sit down? It’s… kinda long story,” Jungwoo said sheepishly. Taeil nodded, looking concerned, and headed to sit down next to Yuta, who sitting in the center of the small couch. Taeil looked down at Yuta, waiting for him to move to make room for him, and Yuta just looked up with a smile that was anything but innocent.

“Come on,” was all Taeil said. He sounded annoyed, but not surprised at whatever was happening. Yuta didn’t show any signs of moving and still sat there smirking.

“What’s the magic word?” Yuta asked, very pleased with himself. Jaehyun felt the corner of his lip turn up at the ridiculousness of the situation.

“Really? You’re gonna do this? Right now?” Taeil asked back. Yuta still didn’t move.

“Come on, Taeil, you know he’s not gonna move until you say please,” Jungwoo said over his shoulder, laughing. While he was talking, he dragged two chairs from the kitchen across from the couch for him and Jaehyun. Taeil seemed like he didn’t even have the energy to roll his eyes. He simply looked back at Yuta with a deadpan face.

“Please,” he said in a monotone voice, still glaring at Yuta. Yuta’s lips formed into a dazzling smile.

“See,” he said, moving over on the couch so Taeil had room to sit. “Now that wasn’t so hard, was it?” Yuta and Jungwoo both burst into laughter and Taeil sat down. He had a look on his face not unlike the look a tired mother would give to her screaming toddlers. Jaehyun had to hide his smile. He sat next to Jungwoo in the chair he got him and made sure to angle his chair, so he could see the exit to the trailer. Just in case.  

“Can you please tell us what’s going on?” All the humor in the room dissipated at Taeil’s question. Jungwoo took in a deep breath and then began to fill Yuta and Taeil in on what’s happened since their group left to get supplies.

As Jungwoo spoke, Jaehyun watched the two people in front of him closely, ready for however they were going to react. He also noticed how Jungwoo had subtly changed his voice while giving the news. It was louder than his normally quiet tone, just enough to take command of the entire room. It still held the same softness to it, though, if not more so currently. It was gentle, as it always was, but there seemed to be something in it that was extremely soothing. Jaehyun wondered if it was intentional on Jungwoo’s part if he was trying to lessen the blow with what seemed like an expert grasp on how to keep things peaceful. If this was the case, Jaehyun found himself impressed. He might’ve underestimated Jungwoo.

“He what?!” Yuta yelled, his eyebrows turned down, sharp eyes widened. Taeil, on the other hand, sat still, looking at the floor.

“He’s gonna be okay, though, they have a doctor and he patched Hyuck up and he’s fine,” Jungwoo replied with the hurried voice of one trying to tame a wild animal.

“Fine, my ass, he got fucking shot!” Yuta was full on screaming at this point, and Jaehyun very much wished he could disappear into the chair he was sitting in. It was in that moment that Yuta turned the full force of his rage onto Jaehyun.

“You.” Yuta started to stand up, and Jaehyun felt his whole body start to curl tight as he stood up in reaction to Yuta, causing the chair to shoot back and squeak against the floor. The deadly, coiled snake deep inside of him started to unravel through his limbs, all the way down to his fists, which clenched in preparation for a fight.

“Yuta, please, they’re not bad people,” Jungwoo said, panic piercing the tranquil cloak of his voice. He stood up after Yuta and placed himself in front of Jaehyun, hands out in front of him. “Hyuck is fine. He’s fine,” he repeated.

Yuta was having none of it. He took his first step towards where Jaehyun, and now Jungwoo in front of him, was standing. Jaehyun analyzed Yuta. He was shorter than him and skinny, sure, but Jaehyun knew to never underestimate an opponent.

“Stop, Yuta.” No one moved at Taeil’s quiet voice. He remained seated on the couch, no longer looking at the floor. Yuta whipped around to give Taeil and incredulous look, but Taeil was looking at Jungwoo. He inhaled deeply, eyes shutting momentarily as if to calm himself down. On the exhale, Taeil looked back at Jungwoo.  

“Hyuck’s okay?” Taeil asked. Jaehyun was still tense. He didn’t take his gaze off the immediate threat, which right now was Yuta, still perched and looking ready to fight.

Jungwoo vigorously nodded his head and then smiled. “Yeah, you know him. He’s still cracking jokes, giving everyone a hard time,” he said fondly, and then looked at Yuta. “He told me to tell you to not annoy ‘gramps’ that much, cuz that’s his job.”  

Taeil let out a relieved breath, smiling. Jaehyun noticed Yuta’s posture relax slightly at Jungwoo’s statement, a smile creeping onto his now less intense face.

Taeil stood up abruptly, looking determined. “Alright, let me get a few things and then we can go.” As he headed to collect his things, he gave Yuta a pat on the shoulder. “Calm down,” he said with a smile. He glanced over at Jaehyun, who was just now starting to relax, and then back at Yuta. “You never would’ve won that fight anyways,” Taeil finished. He walked off, his laughter joined by Jungwoo’s. Yuta rolled his eyes and even laughed along with them, which was something Jaehyun was not expecting.

After Yuta stopped laughing, he slowly made his way in Jaehyun’s direction and stopped right in front of him. Jaehyun’s hands twitched, wanting to clench again, but he fought it.  

“Maybe we’ll get another chance to test that theory out some day,” Yuta said, not seeming even a little intimidated by Jaehyun. He started to walk away and then stopped for a moment, turning back towards Jaehyun. “Oh,” he added, “and I call shotgun.” Yuta then winked and sauntered off to get his own things. Jaehyun stood there for a moment, blinking in confusion. The last hour had exhausted him, and he almost wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all.

“Well,” Jungwoo sighed, moving to stand next to Jaehyun, face pleasant as always, if not a little strained. The two stood in silence for a few comfortable moments.

“That wasn’t so bad,” Jungwoo said, breaking the silence.  

Now Jaehyun did laugh. Come to think of it, the whole thing could have gone down a lot worse, and now that it was over, all he felt was relief. He looked over at Jungwoo, who was already looking at him and replied with a smile.

“Not bad at all.”

♜♜♜

“We’ve been drinking from that?” Jeno asked, looking at the contraption in front of him.

Jaemin looked at him. “Yeah, it’s totally safe. Better even,” he said. Jeno did not look convinced.

“So, you’re telling me running water through some sand and rocks purifies it?”

Jaemin rolled his eyes, sighed, and set down his nearly-empty coffee mug on the ground. “It’s not just ‘some sand and rocks.’” Jaemin stopped and Jeno looked at him as if waiting for him to go on.

“So, the gravel filters out large impurities at the top, okay?” Jaemin didn’t wait for Jeno to answer. “And then the sand filters out the smaller impurities.” He took a breath. “And then the charcoal filters it again, for some reason that I didn’t ask Taeyong about, and the water comes out of the bottom through the cloth, pretty much purified.” Jaemin’s voice was hurried and excited. “And then you boil it and voila! Clean, safe water.” Jaemin frowned and looked at the water tank. It was almost empty. “And not a lot of it, apparently.”

He was finally done talking, and Jeno still didn’t say anything. He was standing in the same position, squinting his eyes at the makeshift water purification system.

“But it’s…sand,” Jeno said skeptically, still looking at the thing as if it was about to come alive and bite him.

“Ugh,” Jaemin groaned, realizing that this was going nowhere. He didn’t even know how the conversation had started. He’d gone inside to check how much water they had left and Jeno must’ve been bored because he followed him.

Jaemin gave up and shrugged his shoulders. “Well, none of us have died yet,” he stated. At this Jeno smiled.

“I guess that’s as good as it gets nowadays, huh?” he chuckled, and Jaemin found himself laughing and nodding along. He reached down to grab his cup off the ground with his good arm. As he did this, his wrapped arm grazed against the filter and he winced in pain, which Jeno noticed.

“So, uh, what happened to your arm?” he asked, voice more hesitant than before.

“What, this?” Jaemin asked back, gesturing to his wrapped arm. “It’s not a big deal, really. We ran into some Scavengers on our last supply run and, one of them got me on the arm before Jaehyun and Mark knocked ‘em out.” He stood back up from his crouched position and absentmindedly crossed his good arm over the bad one on his chest, mug forgotten on the ground.

“Holy shit,” Jeno replied in frightened awe, “that must’ve been terrifying.”

Jaemin scrunched his brows and looked over at Jeno. “You’ve never seen a Scavenger?”

Jeno shook his head. “No, I’ve never seen a Scavenger or an Agent or anything.” He paused and bent down to grab mug on the ground and hand it to Jaemin. “Well, I mean, at least before we ran into you guys.”

“Thanks,” Jaemin said, grabbing the mug, and then remembering what Jeno had just said. “Wait, really? Never?” he asked, brows now turned up in surprise. As Jeno answered, the two started walking towards the front of the hangar to join everyone else outside.

Jeno nodded again. “Yeah, I guess I’ve been lucky?” He hesitated for a moment, and Jaemin gave him an encouraging look as they walked, intrigued. Jeno continued.

“I don’t know... Hyuck and I were hiding out in this bunker his grandpa built before the war. We stayed there for a while. There were enough supplies to last us almost the whole year. Then we ran out and found the others and I’m still getting used to...” They were now at the hangar entrance. Through the doorway, Jeno looked around at the rubble that decorated the world around them. “All this.” Jaemin didn’t know how to respond, so he kept quiet.

Jeno smiled suddenly, nostalgia embracing him. “Man, we used to think Hyuck’s grandpa was nuts for building that bunker,” he laughed until it tapered off at the end, “too bad he wasn’t around to see how right he was.” He shook his head, not wanting to think about the life before the war that didn’t exist anymore.

Jeno and Jaemin had joined the others outside, where Taeyong, with the help of Mark and Lucas, was teaching Jisung how to fight. It must’ve been the sheer boredom of having nothing to do, but everyone was outside watching the ordeal.

Doyoung was sitting, back against the hangar exterior, next to Donghyuck, who had to be carried outside earlier. Jeno went to sit on the other side of Donghyuck, gesturing for Jaemin to follow, which he did. The four sat there like spectators at a game. Mark and Taeyong were quite a sight to behold.

Jeno looked back at Jaemin. “What about you?”

“Hm?” Jaemin asked, not knowing what Jeno was asking.

“Have you ever seen an Agent?” Jeno asked, looking back towards the view in front of him, where Mark and Taeyong were moving in a way he didn’t know humans could move. “I mean, other than them?”

Jaemin frowned and shook his head. “Nope,” he said. He followed the line of Jeno’s focus back to where Mark and Taeyong were sparring. “I don’t know, though, I don’t really consider them Agents, not really.” Both boys were watching the fight, transfixed.

“Do you ever wonder what it’s like?” Jeno mumbled, not taking his gaze away from the sight in front of them.

Jaemin subconsciously nodded his head, entranced by the sight just like Jeno was. “All the time.”

 

Taeyong was showing Jisung how to get out of a choke hold, with Mark and Lucas demonstrating, and for some reason, Donghyuck couldn’t look away. Everything about the scene in front of him was odd, that was the only way he could think to describe it. It was odd, seeing Taeyong act like a normal human, even smiling occasionally whenever Jisung would do a good job. It was odd, being outside, surrounded by the bare concrete bones of what once was a place where the promises were endless. It was odd, seeing Mark so calm with someone’s arm wrapped around his windpipe. Donghyuck found himself wondering how many times Mark had been in this position before.

“Okay, watch closely,” Taeyong said to Jisung. “He’s gonna turn his head to the side.” As Taeyong spoke, Mark moved his head to the side, as much as Lucas’ arm would allow. “That’s to relieve the pressure and give your airway more space to expand.” Jisung was nodding along, an eager student. “This is critical, okay? If not, you’ll pass out, and there’s nothing you can do after that.”

Donghyuck’s leg was starting to hurt again, and though there were streaks of sun that had managed to break past the ever-present clouds, he could feel a hint of frost start to seep under his skin. He must’ve shivered because Doyoung seemed to have noticed.

“Are you okay?” Doyoung asked, turning to look at Donghyuck. Donghyuck noticed that Doyoung’s back straightened when he asked the question, his dark eyes more alert.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” Donghyuck breathed out, “I think it was just the wind.” Doyoung didn’t look convinced, so Donghyuck continued. “You know, it’s kinda like we’re at the movies. I’d kill for some snacks right now.”

 Though the pain in his leg was growing, Donghyuck smiled at the thought of going to the movies. He remembered high school when he and Jeno used to go and watch those cheesy horror movies that were all-too-predictable whenever they could. Afterward, they’d go back to his house and gush about that one cute guy who they always bought concessions from, no matter how long the line. They preserved their precious routine all through high school, and even managed to keep it up during their first year of college. Donghyuck wondered where that guy was now.

One of the corners of Doyoung’s lips turned up at Donghyuck’s statement. “Yeah, me too,” he mumbled, thinking about how many times his sister had dragged him to see the stupid romantic comedies he would never admit he enjoyed.

Donghyuck saw Doyoung’s back relax slightly against the wall behind him. They both turned back to the current source of entertainment, and Donghyuck acted like he didn’t see Doyoung side-eye him every few moments to check on him. He tried to focus back on what was happening in front of them.

“Hit me with your best shot,” Lucas boasted, his arm still wrapped around Mark’s neck, with a grin on his face.

“Don’t tempt me, Lucas,” Mark replied, a smile on his face as well. His hands balled into fists, and Donghyuck noticed that he bent his knees ever so slightly. It was amazing that he could almost see the energy build up in Mark, waiting to spring into action. Lucas taunted again, and Donghyuck saw Taeyong smirk, something he still wasn’t used to, and whisper something to Jisung that made him laugh.  

Donghyuck realized he must have missed part of the instruction, but thankfully he tuned back in just in time to see Mark jab his elbow into Lucas’s side, causing his grip to loosen. He then watched in awe as Mark ducked his head under Lucas' arm, taking a hold of it and spinning around at a shocking speed. In turn, this caused Lucas to whip around, held by Mark, who was able to then twist his arm behind his back and wrap his other one around Lucas’ shoulder, holding him in what looked like an inescapable grip.

Donghyuck would’ve laughed at the ridiculous look on Lucas’ face as he tried to get out of the hold if it weren’t for the mere shock of what he just saw. He suddenly wished he and Jeno would’ve branched out from their movie-watching routine when they had a chance. Maybe they should’ve given action movies a chance.

 

Mark let Lucas out of his tight grip moments after it happened, and the two busted into laughter as soon as he did.

“Damn, that was awesome, man,” Lucas said, his classic goofy grin plastered on his face even as he rubbed his now sore wrist. He lifted his other hand to give Mark a high five that was returned instantly.

“Oh, I wish I could’ve seen your face,” Mark howled out.

“It was a face, alright!” Jaemin teased from where he was sitting.

Mark looked over to see Taeyong now helping Jisung learn the move. Taeyong was smiling, something Mark hadn’t witnessed in a while. They locked eyes for a second. In that second, he saw the smile falter and knew exactly why. He knew Taeyong was remembering the days when they fought each other for survival, not fun.  

_He heard the bell ring._

_He felt the collar tighten._

The sound of clapping thankfully shook Mark out of his thoughts, and he turned around to see Jeno and Jaemin cheering Jisung on. Doyoung wasn’t scowling, which Mark took to mean he was enjoying himself if even a little bit. Lastly, his eyes landed on Donghyuck. He expected him to be cheering with Jeno and Jaemin, but the sunlight illuminated a paling face and drops of sweat journeying down his face instead.  

“Okay,” Jisung said, breathing heavily, “I think we can take a break now.” Taeyong chuckled at this. Jisung walked over and plopped down next to Jaemin

“We’ve got a firecracker over here,” Lucas said, coming up to Jisung.  “You’re doing great, bud,” He ruffled his hair and then turned to Taeyong. “I, on the other hand, would like to keep going.”

“Seriously?” Taeyong asked, amused.

“Yeah,” Lucas replied, shifting his weight from one foot to the other in mock preparation. “I wanna be a badass, too.”

Doyoung snickered. “Oh, now this will be entertaining.”

“Oh, come on! It’s not as easy as it looks,” Lucas replied, taking the bait. Doyoung just gave him an unimpressed look. Lucas added, “Well, I don’t see you doing anything over there either.”

“Classic deflection,” was all Doyoung said.

“Seems like he’s not the only one deflecting,” Taeyong said, surprising even himself by joining to the debate. He didn’t know why he was egging this on. It must be all the adrenaline from fighting, Taeyong thought to himself. All he knew is something made him wanna wipe that damn smirk off Doyoung’s face.

Doyoung seemed surprised when Taeyong added in and turned his focus to Taeyong, a single eyebrow raised.

“As much as I would literally pay to see that,” Donghyuck said, coughing before he could continue, “I think I might have to-” he coughed again “pass this time.”

Both Taeyong and Doyoung snapped out of their pettiness when Donghyuck spoke.

“Hyuck?” Jeno said, touching Donghyuck’s shoulder, “what’s wrong?”

“I’m fine,” he mumbled back, “just wanna sleep.” His eyes were drooping. Taeyong bent down, followed by Mark, and felt his forehead.

“Dammnit, I think he has a fever,” Taeyong said under his breath. “Mark, help me take him inside. I think we need to double his dose of antibiotics. We need to keep him hydrated and warm.”

Mark nodded, grabbing Donghyuck’s left arm and draping it over his shoulder. Taeyong was taking the right side, but then Doyoung appeared next to him.

“I’ll do it,” he hissed at Taeyong, shoving him out of the way before he grabbed Donghyuck’s right arm.

“Are you kidding me?” Taeyong shot back. Doyoung just glared at him before he turned around to help take Donghyuck inside. Taeyong grimaced and then darted into the hangar, headed straight for the plane. Once he was inside, he managed to rip a few seat cushions out. Once he was out of the plane, he laid the cushions out to form a make-shift bed.

“Um, why aren’t we taking him in there,” Doyoung asked, pointing his head to the plane Taeyong just exited.

“We need to keep him close to the fire,” he replied curtly. “Trust me.”

“Oh, trust you?” Doyoung grunted as him and Mark cautiously put Donghyuck down along the cushions. “We were supposed to trust you to make him better. Look how that turned out!” By the end of his sentence, Doyoung was practically screaming.  

Taeyong went to go grab a few more pillows and the few blankets they had and then dropped down next to Mark, who had already wet a cloth to put on Donghyuck’s forehead. As Taeyong started to drape the blankets over Donghyuck, he replied to Doyoung.

“Oh, I’m sorry that I can’t control infection rates after surgery,” Taeyong scoffed. “I mean, look around you, doesn’t this place just scream sterile to you,” he said, voice dripping in venomous sarcasm.

“Maybe that’s why you shouldn’t go around shooting people!” Doyoung yelled back.

“You know what-” Taeyong started.

“Enough!” Mark’s voice pierced through the room. “Just shut up, both of you.” Silence from both Doyoung and Taeyong followed.

Mark turned to Taeyong. “If he has an infection, the best thing until we can get him to hydrate and take more antibiotics is sleep, right?” Mark didn’t know what the hell was going on with Taeyong, but he’d never seen him act like this.

Taeyong blinked in shock and then slowly nodded his head. Taeyong glanced at Doyoung, who was now looking down at Donghyuck, all the anger drained from his face. Taeyong realized, with a sharp pain in his chest, that he’d seen this face countless times in his patients’ families. Even worse, he knew exactly how it felt. With the realization, all the pressure building up inside of him seemed to deflate all at once.

“Okay, so how about you guys go cool off, so he can sleep in peace,” Mark said in a quiet voice. Taeyong nodded and gave Mark a pat on the back before standing up and heading outside. He stopped when he passed Doyoung, who was narrowing his eyes at Mark.

“I don’t know who you think you are telling me what’s best-” Doyoung’s statement was cut short by Taeyong placing his hand on his shoulder. Doyoung looked at the hand on his shoulder in a frozen shock.

“Do you want him to get better?” Taeyong said, looking down at Doyoung, voice a tenth of the volume he had used previously.  

The tenderness in Taeyong’s voice made Doyoung look up from the hand on his shoulder, eyes trailing slowly up the thin arm and all the way to Taeyong’s face. For a moment, painfully stretched like a rubber band about to snap, Doyoung analyzed. He searched that face above him for a semblance of the monster he saw that day in the city. And in the face he looked at now, he was troubled to find that that monster was nowhere to be seen at the moment. Mark watched the scene with wide eyes.

After that brief moment, Doyoung brushed Taeyong’s hand off his shoulder forcefully and stood up, walking away without another word. Taeyong looked at his hand as if it wasn’t attached to his body. He sighed, shook his head, and walked off in the opposite direction. As he headed outside, he couldn’t help but smile to himself when he thought of how proud of Mark he was at that moment.

♜♜♜

Sitting in the back of a ten-year-old van while driving along a path demolished at every turn wasn’t exactly Jaehyun’s definition of comfortable. To make matters worse, every time they hit a bump in the road, causing Jaehyun’s backside to painfully buck against the ridged floor of the van, he would look up to see Yuta smirking at him through the mirror in the passenger seat.

Jaehyun breathed in and out slowly, telling himself that he wasn’t gonna give Yuta the satisfaction of seeing him in discomfort. That wish was hopelessly dashed the second they drove over their next pothole. Taeil seemed to be having just as much fun as Jaehyun was.

“How much longer, Jungwoo?” Taeil grunted as they hit another bump.

“Like, half an hour maybe?” Jungwoo replied from behind the wheel. “Does that sound about right, Jaehyun?”

Jaehyun sighed and tried to get up on his knees so he could see the road. As he did so, he was nudged back by Yuta putting his seat back, flashing Jaehyun another one of his vindictive yet stunning smiles as he flopped his legs onto the dashboard. Jaehyun felt a scowl pull his lips down, and it got even deeper when he heard Taeil let out a chuckle next to him.

“Uh, yeah, I know where we are. Probably more like fifteen,” he said, trying not to let his annoyance leak into his tone. It wasn’t Jungwoo’s fault that Yuta was a dick.

“Cool,” Jungwoo said in a chipper voice. Jaehyun looked up at the rearview mirror to see it reflecting Jungwoo’s large scenic eyes looking right at him, a single strand of bluish hair drooping down past Jungwoo’s forehead the only thing that seemed to separate the two.  

The serene moment was splintered when Yuta suddenly gasped.

“Jungwoo, look out!”

Jungwoo looked back to the road just in time to see something in the middle of the road and quickly swerve out of the way, breaking hard soon after. Jaehyun lost his balance and tumbled sideways, knocking into Taeil, who on the rebound landed on his back. Once the car was completely still, the silent air was permeated only by the sound of quick breaths in and out.

Jaehyun felt extremely disoriented and slowly got up, helping Taeil once he found his balance again.

“Is everyone okay?” Jungwoo asked, still catching his breath. This was returned by three groans of varying length. “W-what was that?”

Yuta was staring out the window at the thing in the road, and Jaehyun saw him reach for the door handle. He shot his hand out on Yuta’s right side just in time to grasp the handle and forcibly close the door that Yuta started opening.

“Are you crazy? This could be a trap!” Jaehyun exclaimed, still gripping onto the handle through the small area between the passenger seat and the side of the car.

Yuta ripped Jaehyun’s hand off the handle and grabbed it again. He turned to Jaehyun. “Well, you’re the fancy Agent-guy. Cover me,” was all he said before opening the door and stepping out of the van.

“Shit!” Jaehyun yelled, pulling his gun out. He turned towards Taeil and Jungwoo, who both looked just as panicked as Jaehyun felt. “Stay here.”

“But-” Jungwoo started, eyes pleading.

“Stay in the car!” Jaehyun yelled, louder and harsher than he intended. He saw Jungwoo’s eyes widen in hurt, and Jaehyun tried to ignore the ache in his chest as he stepped out of the van. He shut the door quietly and plastered his back against it, holding his gun up near his face. He saw Yuta creeping closer to the thing in the road.

Jaehyun let his eyes scan the area around them meticulously, watching for any sign of movement. Today, the sun was actually visible through the grey sheen that usually blanketed the sky. Normally, Jaehyun would be glad to see the sun, feel it on his face. But now, all those streaks of sun did was shine a spotlight right onto him, revealing his location to any predator in search of prey. The forest lends its dark disguise when necessary, but today, on the road, there was nothing to protect them.

“Hurry up,” he whispered, just loud enough for Yuta to hear. When Yuta didn’t answer, Jaehyun looked away from the cloudy forest surrounding them and to where Yuta was hunched over the thing on the road. Jaehyun tightened his grip on his gun. He hoped that Jungwoo and Taeil would have enough self-preservation to drive away without them if things went bad. He thought about what he’d learned about Jungwoo in the past days, and the impression he got from Taeil. In a bittersweet realization, he knew that they weren’t the type of people to leave anyone behind.

“Holy…” Jaehyun’s heart started beating faster when he heard Yuta say that. The thumping of his heart could pass for the ticks of a grandfather clock, counting down his last seconds. He braced himself for whatever fight may come.

“What?” he asked Yuta, still trying to be quiet.

“Holy….” Yuta repeated.

“What?” Jaehyun asked again, louder this time. “Yuta!” He didn’t even try to keep his voice down now. He was about to go to Yuta, when he turned around to look at Jaehyun with big, round eyes.

“We need to go.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am officially back in school, so I finally know what day of the week it is. It will definitely be a lot easier to keep with a schedule now. Thank you, everyone, for your patience, and I hope everyone's first week(s) of school are going better than mine!! 
> 
>  
> 
> ~Till Next Time~  
> CC & Twitter: indi__ghost

**Author's Note:**

> Well, I finally posted something on this site! It's actually really fun. How do we feel about our dark bois? If anyone has any advise about fic-writing, I'm always open to input. 
> 
> Curious Cat: curiouscat.me/indi__ghost  
> Feel free to hit me up! I LOVE talking to people :) and always here for feedback. 
> 
> ~Until next time~


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